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No it will not. If you attach a fan to a derby car and point it backwards, the car will move forwards. If you redirect the fan so it's pointing forward, the ca
by natosaichek 7y ago
No it will not.
If you attach a fan to a derby car and point it backwards, the car will move forwards.
If you redirect the fan so it's pointing forward, the car will move backwards. If you put a sail in the way, the car will move backwards less efficiently. If you make a perfect sail that blocks all the air from the fan, it will not move at all.
- AmericanChopper 7y ago> If you make a perfect sail that blocks all the air from the fan, it will not move at all. It should push the fan and the sail apart, which could result in a structural failure.
- tsukikage 7y agoUntil it does, though, the air from the fan will bounce off the sail and go (mostly) backwards, propelling the craft forwards (for the same reason, albeit much less efficiently, as if you had no sail and just pointed the fan backwards. You've basically made a thrust vectored device, badly).
- AmericanChopper 7y agoA sail is used to create drag. If the air from the fan hit the sail and dispersed perfectly perpendicular to it, then it wouldn’t move the craft at all. The more realistic outcome would be that the sail did not disperse the air with perfect efficiency, and the craft would just move backwards. What you’re describing would require redirecting the flow of air backwards, like a curved exhaust. Which is really just a less efficient version of turning the fan around.