A paddle wheel is a form of waterwheel or impeller in which a number of paddles are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several uses, of which some are:
The paddle wheel is an ancient invention but is still used today in a wide range of industrial and agriculture applications.
Ship propulsion
Paddle wheels would enable ships to travel without needing wind or oars. They were made obsolete by
propellers, which had greater propulsion with lower weight and fuel usage. This was demonstrated by an 1845
tug-of-war competition between and with the screw-driven
Rattler pulling the paddle steamer
Alecto backward at .
[ Propeller versus Paddle: The Tug of War between HMS Rattler and the Alecto, Bow Creek to Anatahan.]
Physics
The paddle wheel is a device for converting between
rotary motion of a shaft and
linear motion of a fluid. In the linear-to-rotary direction, it is placed in a fluid stream to convert the linear motion of the fluid into rotation of the wheel. Such a rotation can be used as a source of power, or as an indication of the speed of flow. In the rotary-to-linear direction, it is driven by a
Engine such as an
electric motor or
steam engine and used to pump a fluid or propel a vehicle such as a
Paddle steamer or a
steamship.
