Fans

A fan is sometimes an electronic apparatus that has blades that rotate to create air for cooling purposes or to act as a ventilator. Sometimes it can be folded using any material to create a semi-circle when it is spread out and it can be hand held so when it is moved around it creates a cooling effect to the person using it. The fan was invented by Schuyler Skaats in1882, and then a few years later, Philip Diehl a German-American mechanic mounted it on a sewing machine's motor then mounted it on the ceiling creating one of the first ceiling fans.

How fans work

This device that creates a flow within fluids, air or gases. It consists of vanes or blades that rotate to create air movement hence produce a cooling effect. The blades are contained in a case or a housing to prevent it from coming into contact with other objects which might tamper with how it functions. Mosts fans have electric motors but some use other sourced of power like hydraulic motors, solar power, hand cranks or internal combustion engines. In mechanical terms, a fan can be anything with rotating vanes that can be used to create air currents. Some fans produce high pressure will others produce low pressure but all this depends on the type and the power of the motor the fan has been fitted with. The vanes of a fun rotate once they are exposed to air fluid. Some devices like the anemometer have taken advantage of this design to work like fans.

How fans are used

• Used for air conditioning control.
• Used for personal use like the table fan or floor fan.
• Used as a vehicle's cooling system, winnowing, extraction of fumes, sucking dust in appliances, drying things and can also be used to provide draft for a fire.

While most people use fans to cool themselves, they don't actually cool bodies but they create an evaporative effect by cooling sweat and heat convection in the surrounding areas. Although an electric fan may not actually create a cooling effect because its electric motors produce some form of heat.  Fans may become ineffective in cooling the body if the surrounding temperatures are high and the environment is too humid. Most fan blades are generally made of wood, metal or plastic. Typical blade fans come in a wide range of designs. Those meant for personal use as pedestal fans  or tower fans can be placed on the table, ceiling or floor. The most modern and versatile fans can be built into a window, wall or even a chimney. Moreover, there are special electric fans called misting fans used in the garden to minimize high temperatures during the summer. 

Electric fans

An electric fan might produce some noise due to the rapid movement of air into the fan. Fans one their own stands are mostly powered by an electric motor and it requires neither belts nor gears. For machines that use rotating parts, fans are connected to it rather than being powered as a separate entity. This is commonly used in vehicles, winnowing machines and huge cooling systems. An electric fan used as a ventilator can be powered by solar panels instead of electric current. This is a more eco-friendly fan, helps in cutting costs on payment of electricity bills and the fun will always run as long as the sun shines.