Abstract
SOME of your readers may be interested in an incident which took place during the testing of a propeller at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, South Farnborough. The propeller was being revolved at a very high speed, such that the tips of the blade were moving at about 1000 ft. per second. The test was carried out in the open, and the noise was such that in the neighbourhood of the propeller it was impossible to make oneself heard. Moreover, the noise gave an unpleasant physiological sensation. The interesting fact to your readers is that apparently this noise attracted very large numbers of gnats, and most of these lost their lives by being drawn through the propeller, which on being stopped was found to be covered with their blood and portions of their bodies.
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WATTS, H. High-speed Aircraft Propellers and the Destruction of Gnats. Nature 107, 269 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107269b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107269b0
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