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Science and technology | Easy breezy

A new age of sail begins

By harnessing wind power, high-tech sails can help cut marine
pollution

Jacques Cousteau's wind-powered Alcyone arrives in New York harbor,
New York, New York, June 17, 1985.Photograph: Getty Images
May 21st 2024
Share

In 1926 an unusual vessel arrived in New York after crossing the
Atlantic. This was a converted sailing ship renamed Baden-Baden. Its
two masts had been torn down and a pair of 15-metre-high revolving
cylinders were mounted on its deck instead. Known as Flettner rotors,
after Anton Flettner, their German inventor, the rotors worked like
sails. Not only were they extremely efficient, allowing the vessel to
consume less than half the fuel an oil-powered ship of a similar size
would use, they also let the craft tack closer to an oncoming wind
than its original canvas rigging allowed. The rotors were hailed as a
great achievement at the time (praised by Albert Einstein, among
others) before cheap oil caused interest to wane.

More recently, the cost of oil has been rising--and not just
financially. Ships, which transport more than 80% of the world's
goods, account for some 3% of humanity's greenhouse-gas emissions, a
similar fraction to aviation. Ports are, therefore, imposing emission
limits on marine craft. The International Maritime Organisation has
set targets to reduce emissions to net-zero by "around" 2050. The
imprecision arises because at present there is no easy way of getting
there.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the
print edition under the headline "The second age of sail"

Science & technology May 25th 2024

  * A new age of sail begins
  * The AirFish is a fast ferry that will fly above the waves
  * A promising non-invasive technique can help paralysed limbs move

Cash for kids: Why policies to boost birth rates don't work

From the May 25th 2024 edition

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