RobinAge

simplescience JANUARY 16-31, 2022

VOL 14, NO 19

KNOW MORE ABOUT

Fans
EXPERIMENT
Water Refraction
Materials >>
l Sheet of paper
l Glass
l Water
l Small airtight self-sealing bag
l Coloured sketch pens

Method >>
1 Cut the piece of paper to the size of the bag.
2 On the paper, draw a shape you like and colour it with Fans have existed for over a millennium in various forms,
sketch pens. such as handheld fans. John Theophilus Desagulier,
a Frenchman, invented the paddle fan to ventilate
3 Place the paper inside the plastic bag and seal it.
mines. The electrical fan was introduced in 1882 by
4 Now, with a black sketch pen, make just the outline of Schuyler Skaats Wheeler. His fan had two blades. In 1889,
the image in the bag. Philip H Diehl invented the ceiling fan by mounting a fan
5 Fill the glass with water. blade on a sewing machine motor.
6 Insert the bag inside the water. With time, fans have evolved to become decorative
7 You will notice the colour disappear. pieces. Some come with four and five blades and others
even come with lights at the centre.
This occurs due to refraction of light or the change in
the direction and speed of a light wave as it passes from
one medium (air) to another (water). Refraction changes
the way we see the shape and colour of an object.

1 2 3

4 5 6

Did you know?

The Japanese invented folding fans,
possibly inspired by the way bats fold
Warning: Ask a parent or adult to help with this experiment. their wings.

Bladeless fans are not

The Egyptians used actually bladeless; the
lotus leaves as fans. blades are hidden at

Cool the base of the fan.

Facts!
In India, people
used the ‘punkah’,
a handheld fan, as The first rotary
early as 500 BC. fan ran on water.

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