Energy & Green Tech
A new form of wave devouring propulsion (WDP) could power ships and help to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime industry. Academics from Cranfield University have worked on the concept of using wave energy for propulsion ...
Nov 24, 2023
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105
Robotics
A team of researchers from Korea University, Ajou University and Hanyang University, all in the Republic of Korea, has created a tiny aquabot propelled by fins made of a porous hydrogel imbued with nanoparticles. In their ...
Engineering
A household microwave oven modified by a Cornell engineering professor is helping to cook up the next generation of cellphones, computers and other electronics after the invention was shown to overcome a major challenge faced ...
Sep 8, 2022
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85
Robotics
Developing robots inspired by animals and other biological systems has become a key research focus for many roboticists worldwide. By artificially reproducing biological mechanisms, these robots could help to automate complex ...
Robotics
A whole generation of gripping robots has been developed using a design concept originally known from fish fins. An international research team from Biomechanics, with participation from Kiel University (CAU), led by the ...
Jan 27, 2022
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Robotics
Peer into any fishbowl, and you'll see that pet goldfish and guppies have nimble fins. With a few flicks of these appendages, aquarium swimmers can turn in circles, dive deep down or even bob to the surface.
Aug 11, 2021
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683
Robotics
By combining two distinct approaches into an integrated workflow, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) researchers have developed a novel automated process for designing and fabricating customized soft robots. ...
Jul 7, 2021
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12
A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, (in other words, a foil (fluid mechanics)). The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices. Fins, as with other foils, operate in fluids such as water or air.
Fins are seen both in nature and in manmade iterations.
Swimming water animals such as fish and cetaceans actively use pectoral fins for maneuvering, and dorsal fins contribute stability as the animal swims, propelling and maneuvering with its tail, itself recognizable as a fin.
The fin on fixed-wing aircraft is known as a vertical stabilizer. Fins are also seen used as e.g., fletching on arrows and at the rear of some bombs, missiles, rockets, and self-propelled torpedoes. These are typically "planar" (shaped like small wings), although grid fins are sometimes used in specialized cases.
Examples of fins include:
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
