Can a sailboat be propelled by air blown at the sails from a fan attached to the boat? Explain your answer.

Question

Kevin Nash · Answer

Yes, the sailboat can be propelled by the air blown at the sail from a fan attached to the boat. This can be seen from the equation given as

When the air molecules hit the sail, they exert a force on it. This force is responsible for changing the linear momentum of the sail and the sailboat. The direction of the final momentum is governed by the direction of the force exerted by the air blown on the sail using the fan.

Anushka Deep · Answer

No, sailboat cannot be propelled by the air blown from fan attached to it because this is the internal force acting on the boats weight of the fan is added to the weight of the sailboat. To change the inertia of rest of the sailboat external force is required not the internal force

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Can a sailboat be propelled by air blown at the sails from a fan attached to the boat? Explain your answer.

Can a sailboat be propelled by air blown at the sails from a fan attached to the boat? Explain your answer.

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