An ambitious group
of students , in Canada ,is building a human-powered water vehicle that they hope will set a new world speed record.
With project
Leviathan, as the vehicle is known, the students will attempt to reach a
blistering pace of 23 miles per hour (37 km/h), breaking the current speed record of 21 mph (34 kph) that was set by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, in 1991.
The
vehicle itself has to be perfected for both aerodynamic and
hydrodynamic performance.
The
vehicle is powered completely by human pedalling, which drives a propeller in
the water. The twin-hulled craft resembles a catamaran, but underneath each
hull is a submerged wing, or hydrofoil, like those found on some racing boats.
Once we hit that sweet spot
[of] 5 to 8 meters per second (11 mph), it will start to come out of the water
onto the hydrofoils. An onboard computer controls the front hydrofoils
to keep the boat stable, a feature that previous human-powered watercraft
lacked. The pilot can also change the angle of the propeller blades to
optimize them for different speeds.
Construction of the speedy
vehicle is not yet complete , but it should be complete fast.
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