X-Nico

7 unusual facts about Magnus effect


Flettner rotor bomblet

Based on the vertical Flettner rotor which takes advantage of the Magnus effect, a force acting on a spinning body in a moving airstream, it was developed toward the end of the U.S. biological weapons program in the 1960s.

Hwacha

The trajectory of the so (소; "small") size singijeon projectiles was fairly flat and – like other spinning projectiles – experienced the Magnus effect.

Manfred Kaltz

Kaltz was famous for his right-footed crosses, which he hit with so much spin that they curved like a banana.

Sidearm

This is caused by the Magnus effect, which makes the ball move in the direction of its rotation.

Smoothbore

This does two things; first, it increases the accuracy of the projectile by eliminating the random drift due to the Magnus effect, and second, it allows a longer, heavier bullet to be fired from the same caliber barrel, increasing range and power (see external ballistics).

However, spherical bullets do tend to rotate randomly during flight, and the Magnus effect means that even a relatively smooth sphere will curve when rotating on any axis not parallel to the direction of travel (see knuckleball for an example of intentional random tumbling.)

Table tennis styles

The aggressive attacking can win points easily in the first few returns, but the lack of a topspin Magnus effect means that the attacks are less effective when the opponent is forced back.



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