Abstract
THE screw-propeller was practically applied to steamships by John Ericsson and Francis Petit Smith about seventy years ago. It speedily became formidable rival to the paddle-wheel. Long ago it entirely superseded the latter for ocean navigation, and in more recent years it has to a large extent taken the place of the paddle, even in river steamers of the shallowest draught. Accumulated experience over this long period has proved of great advantage, and has enabled naval architects and marine engineers to meet new conditions in ships of much larger dimensions and higher speed; but notwithstanding this wealth of experience-largely based upon “progressive trials” of steamships and the analysis of the results—it is still true that we are on the threshold of exact knowledge in regard to the principles underlying the efficiency of screw-propellers.
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Experiments on Screw Propellers . Nature 77, 416–417 (1908). https://doi.org/10.1038/077416a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/077416a0