Patent Model - Improvement in Feathering Paddle-Wheels
Maker and role
William Merritt, Patentee
Production date
Jun 03 1879
See full details
Object detail
Media/Materials
Bronze, wood
Measurements
12 x 11 3/4 x 7 1/4" (30.5 x 29.8 x 18.4cm)
Description
Merritt's patent "relates to that class of paddle wheels used in propelling vessels which are known by the name of 'feathering paddle-wheels', and in which the paddles or buckets of the wheel enter and leave the water perpendicularly, thus preventing the great waste of power in wheels with fixed buckets or paddles, which, by their entering and leaving the water in an inclined position, cause great loss - first, by their lifting action, which tends to raise the vessel from the water, and secondly, by their tendency to depress the vessel and throw up the water as they leave it, all the power used in this way being wholly lost for the purpose of propulsion." (Patent Number 216,208)
Collection
Object number
2015.14.2903a-c
Currently on display?
Maker
Public comments
Be the first to comment on this object record.