Decavitator
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Decavitator
''Decavitator'' is a human-powered hydrofoil equipped with pedals and an air propeller that was built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It holds the human-powered speed record on water. The vehicle was displayed hanging in the entry lobby of the Museum of Science, Boston until 2015. It is currently in storage at MIT. On 27 October 1991, Mark Drela set the world-record speed with ''Decavitator'' of over a 100-meter race course on the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. In the spring of 1993 the ''Decavitator'' team was awarded the DuPont prize for the team with the fastest speed on record as of 31 December 1992. See also * Human-powered hydrofoil * Human-powered watercraft * Hydrocycle * List of world records in rowing * Pedalo A pedalo (British English) or paddle boat (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel. Description A pedalo is a human-powered watercraft prope ...
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Human-powered Hydrofoil
A human-powered hydrofoil is a small hydrofoil watercraft propelled entirely by the muscle power of its operator(s). Hydrofoils are the fastest water-based vehicles propelled solely by human power. They can reach speeds of up to , easily exceeding the world records set by competitive rowing which stand at about . This speed advantage is achieved since hydrofoils lack a submerged body to provide buoyancy, greatly reducing the drag force. Propulsion Means of propulsion include screw propellers, as in hydrocycles; aircraft propellers, as in the Decavitator; paddles, as in a Flyak; oars, as in the Yale hydrofoil sculling project; and flapping wings, as detailed below. Flapping wing propulsion Flapping wing propulsion devices are hydrofoils that produce propulsion by forcing a foil to move up and down in the water. The forward motion of the foil then generates lift as in other hydrofoils. A common design consists of a large foil at the stern The stern is the back or aft-m ...
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Hydrocycle
A hydrocycle is a bicycle-like watercraft. The concept was known in the 1870s as a water velocipede and the name was in use by the late 1890s. Power is collected from the rider via a crank with pedals, as on a bicycle, and delivered to the water or the air via a propeller. Seating may be upright or recumbent, and multiple riders may be accommodated in tandem or side-by-side. Buoyancy is provided by two or more pontoons or a single surfboard, and some have hydrofoils that can lift the flotation devices out of the water. Brands include Seacycle, Hydrobike, Water Bike, Seahorse (Cross Trek) and itBike. Kits exist to temporarily convert an existing bicycle into a hydrocycle. See also *Human-powered watercraft *List of solar-powered boats *Pedalo A pedalo (British English) or paddle boat (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel. Description A pedalo is a human-powered watercraft pr ...
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Human Powered Vehicle
Human-powered transport is the transport of person(s) and/or goods using human muscle power. Unlike animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming. Modern technology has allowed machines to enhance human-power. Although motorization has increased speed and load capacity, many forms of human-powered transport remain popular for reasons of cost, convenience, leisure, physical exercise, and environmentalism. Human-powered transport is sometimes the only type available, especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions. Modes Non-vehicular *Crawling (human) *Walking (233 watts at 3 mph) ** Walking bus *Running (1,150 watts at 10 mph) *Sprinting (1,690 watts at 15 mph) *Swimming *Climbing and mountaineering *Ice skating, roller skating, and inline skating *Cross-country skiing Human-powered vehicles (HPVs) Land vehicles Skateboards have the advantage of being so small and light that users ...
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Museum Of Science, Boston
The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentations throughout the building every day, along with shows at the Charles Hayden Planetarium and the Mugar Omni Theater, the only domed IMAX screen in New England. The museum is also an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is home to over 100 animals, many of which have been rescued and rehabilitated. History Origin and early years The museum began as the Boston Society of Natural History in 1830, founded by a collection of men who wished to share scientific interests. Their first meeting was held on February 9, 1830 with seven original members in attendance: Walter Channing, Benjamin D. Greene, George Hayward, John Ware, Edward Brooks, Amos Binney, and George B. Emerson. It was more commonly called t ...
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Human-powered Watercraft
Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled by human power. The three main methods of collecting human power are directly from the hands or feet, through the hands with oars, paddles, or poles, or through the feet with pedals and a crank or treadle. While most human-powered watercraft use buoyancy to maintain their position relative to the surface of the water, a few, such as human-powered hydrofoils and human-powered submarines, use hydrofoils, either alone or in addition to buoyancy. Oared craft Oars are held at one end, have a blade on the other end, and pivot in between in oarlocks. Oared craft include: * Racing shell Using oars in pairs, with one hand on each oar, is two-oar sculling. The oars may also be called sculls. Two-oared sculled craft include: * Adirondack guideboat * Banks dory, Gloucester dory, and McKenzie River dory * Dinghy * Sampans rowed by foot in Ninh Bình Province of northern Vietnam. * Scull, Single scull, Double scull, Quad scull, and Oc ...
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Hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the water, decreasing drag and allowing greater speeds. Description The hydrofoil usually consists of a winglike structure mounted on struts below the hull, or across the keels of a catamaran in a variety of boats (see illustration). As a hydrofoil-equipped watercraft increases in speed, the hydrofoil elements below the hull(s) develop enough lift to raise the hull out of the water, which greatly reduces hull drag. This provides a corresponding increase in speed and fuel efficiency. Wider adoption of hydrofoils is prevented by the increased complexity of building and maintaining them. Hydrofoils are generally prohibitively more expensive than conventional watercraft above a certain disp ...
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Air Propeller
An aircraft propeller, also called an airscrew,Beaumont, R.A.; ''Aeronautical Engineering'', Odhams, 1942, Chapter 13, "Airscrews". converts rotary motion from an engine or other power source into a swirling slipstream which pushes the propeller forwards or backwards. It comprises a rotating power-driven hub, to which are attached several radial airfoil-section blades such that the whole assembly rotates about a longitudinal axis. The blade pitch may be fixed, manually variable to a few set positions, or of the automatically variable "constant-speed" type. The propeller attaches to the power source's driveshaft either directly or through reduction gearing. Propellers can be made from wood, metal or composite materials. Propellers are most suitable for use at subsonic airspeeds generally below about , although supersonic speeds were achieved in the McDonnell XF-88B experimental propeller-equipped aircraft. Supersonic tip-speeds are used in some aircraft like the Tupolev Tu-95, whi ...
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Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the most prestigious and highly ranked academic institutions in the world. Founded in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, MIT adopted a European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. MIT is one of three private land grant universities in the United States, the others being Cornell University and Tuskegee University. The institute has an urban campus that extends more than a mile (1.6 km) alongside the Charles River, and encompasses a number of major off-campus facilities such as the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Bates Center, and the Haystack Observatory, as well as affiliated laboratories such as the Broad and Whitehead Institutes. , 98 ...
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List Of World Records In Rowing
In rowing there are not world records due to the huge variability that weather conditions can have on times. Instead there are world best times, which are set over the international rowing distance of 2000 m. On water records Rowing times are strongly affected by weather conditions, and to a lesser extent by water temperature – the majority of these times were set in warm water with a strong tailwind. World best rowing times have also decreased because of improvements in technology to both the boats and the oars, along with improvements in the conditioning of the rowers. Because environmental conditions have a strong impact on boat speed, FISA recognizes world best times instead of world records. A world best time is one recorded on a regatta course that has previously held the World Championships, Olympic Games, or World Cup since 1980. A number of record times were set at the 2005 World Rowing Championships held on the Nagara River at Kaizu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, but due t ...
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Pedalo
A pedalo (British English) or paddle boat (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel. Description A pedalo is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the turning of a paddle wheel. The wheel is turned by people of rotating the pedals of the craft. The paddle wheel of a pedalo is a smaller version of that used by a paddle steamer. Use Pedalos, being particularly suited to calm waters, are often hired out for use on ponds and small lakes in urban parks. Designs The earliest record of a pedalo is perhaps Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...'s diagram of a craft driven by two pedals. Typically, a two-seat pedalo has two sets of pedals side-by-side, designed to b ...
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Speed With Guy Martin
''Speed with Guy Martin'' is a British documentary series for Channel 4, presented by Guy Martin, and narrated by Shaun Dooley. The four-part program sees motorcycle racer and mechanic Guy Martin attempt to create four speed-based challenges that enable him to explore the boundaries of physics and learn about the science of speed. Whether it's slip-streaming a racing driver to ride a bicycle at more than 100 mph using pedal power, or seeing if he can ride a motorbike across a lake, Martin seeks to find out what makes things go fast by getting his hands dirty in a range of unique engineering projects. Along the way celebrities well-known in the world of speed help him in his challenges. Episodes Series overview Series 1 (2013–14) Series 2 (2014) Series 3 (2016) Special episodes Home media On 8 June 2015, a boxset entitled ''Complete Speed with Guy Martin'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, ...
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