Dyson's Bladeless Airfoil Desk Fan Ends the Menace of Choppy Air

When you say 15x faster then normal air flow in the room, does that mean that if the air is totally stagnant there will still be zero air flow?

Also, could you put this in front of a wind powered generator and get more power, or at least be able to build a smaller turbine?

No blades, no rotor, but wait - what's that? An impeller? Hiding beneath a little high speed motor in the base, consuming many more watts per cubic foot than a normal fan, yes, it seem there's some kind of enclosed bladed instrument... maybe the word impeller is wrong, but it's attached to a motor and it has blades. You just don't see them moving. This article says the loop spins, but a different picture with a cutaway of the base shows more detail. I don't think the loop actually moves at all.

At least they didn't claim it's green.

I just read another story at a different site, and Dyson claims it's an economical alternative to : (wait for it) : yes - an AIR CONDITIONER! what a doof. you can buy 20 box fans for that price, and I bet they'd last longer.

if this means the end of choppy turbulent air, then perhaps this could be used on a larger scale for vtol air craft.

i like how you think extemechiton, and on a related note... i belive this would work well on uav's or unwinged aircraft as it would provide a stable platform. i dont know how the numbers work out, but this product seems better for fast tracking insted of desk sitting

I saw a review on this thing, and they do use an impeller -- sort of like a vacuum cleaner. Apparently it sounds llike a vacuum cleaner as well.

I'll take the choppy air -- that I've never noticed anyway.

Stuart Fox you need to do your homework before you write an article. 10 seconds worth of Google searching, and I found the following video that explains how this works. The loop oscillates just like a regular desk fan, but does not rotate, or produce any lift/pressure difference from this movement. The system sucks in air using a vacuum motor in the base, and pumps it out along the inside of the loop causing a low pressure zone on the inside of the loop (like an airplane wing). This low pressure zone sucks air through the loop. Nothing like having a vacuum cleaner running on your desk while your trying to make a phone call....or just think. I would like to see some sound level numbers. I will stick with my regular desk fan.

news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_10000000/newsid_10002300/10002357.stm

Based on the explanation on Dyson's website, the loop doesn't spin. As previous posters have stated, there's an impeller in the base of the fan that sucks in air. That air is then exhausted on one edge of the loop. As Dyson puts it: "air is accelerated though (sic) an annular aperture". The air then runs along the loop, which induces air from behind the fan. When the air gets shot out the front, it further entrains air in the room, boosting the airflow.

Dyson rocks, have you used their vacuums? Amazing! I got to give it to these guys they take regular household crap and make it awesome. They have an air hand dryer, air blade or something, anyway it works better than paper towels. I'll admit, it is pricey stuff and I'm not going to buy one, but I am glad somebody is bringing these technologies up to speed.

"Overall, the Air Multiplier blows out 15 times more air than its motor creates."

Not of the surrounding air. Again after 10 second of Google searching.......

meyaht regarding your second post if you could do that that would imply that the turbine would put out more power than the fan took in which, disregarding conspiracy theorists, would be propetual motion which we all know is impossible.