this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2025
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xkcd #3119: Flettner Rotor (imgs.xkcd.com)
submitted 1 week ago by xkcdbot@lemmy.world to c/xkcd@lemmy.world
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xkcd #3119: Flettner Rotor

Title text:

"And in maritime news, the Coast Guard is on the scene today after an apparent collision between two lighthouses."

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3119/

explainxkcd for #3119

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[–] otter@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 week ago

(copying my comment from another post)

I had to look this one up, I didn't realize how old the technology was

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flettner_rotor

A Flettner rotor is a smooth cylinder with disc end plates which is spun along its long axis and, as air passes at right angles across it, the Magnus effect causes an aerodynamic force to be generated in the direction perpendicular to both the long axis and the direction of airflow.[1] The rotor sail is named after the German aviation engineer and inventor Anton Flettner, who started developing the rotor sail in the 1920s.

A black and white photo of a small ship with two large pillar shaped rotors extending upwards from the deck

The Buckau, the Flettner Rotor Ship, photographed in 1924