Joseph Denman to Faraday   25 May 18541

H.M. Yacht Victoria & Albert | Portsmouth | May 25th

My dear Sir

The relative advantages of the Screw and of the Paddle wheel are just now being carefully investigated with the view of deciding which will be the most suitable for Her Majesty’s New Yacht2.

The question of the rolling motion of the ship as dependent upon either mode of propulsion is of course an object of prominent consideration.

His Royal Highness Prince Albert has desired me to communicate with you upon the subject, especially referring to an experiment he recently discussed with you3, showing the tendency of a wheel having a violent rotary motion to maintain a vertical position4.

The general impression is that Paddle wheel steamers roll less than screw steamers, and His Royal Highness suggests the enquiry, whether this may not be due to the rotary motion of the paddles under the same general principles.

The weight of the paddle wheels is considerable, but on the other hand the motion is slow; in the new yacht for instance of 2300 Tons, the paddle wheels would be 32 feet in diameter, and would make 30 Revolutions. Their weight would be about 70 Tons.

From these data will you be so kind as to state for His Royal Highness’s information whether you think the revolutions of the Paddle wheels would have an appreciable effect in diminishing the rolling motion.

Should the screw be adopted, it would be 16 Feet in diameter, about 10 Tons in weight and would make about 60 revolutions. Do you think the action of the screw working at right angles to the keel of the ship would have any effect on the ship’s motion? in increasing rolling? - or in diminishing pitching motion?

His Royal Highness desires me also to suggest whether by the adoption of a heavy kind of Fly wheel working in the centre of the ship in a line with the keel+, the rolling motion of ships might not, (on the principle before referred to) be greatly diminished, if not altogether prevented. I am my dear Sir

Faithfully Your’s | Jos Denman

+ unconnected with either propeller.

Professor Faraday | &c &c &c

1
Joseph Denman (1810-1874, B1). Naval officer. Commanding officer of the royal yacht, 1853-1862.
2
Also called the Victoria & Albert. Paddle wheels were chosen for this yacht which was launched on 16 January 1855. Gavin (1932), 129-43, 279.
3
Presumably when Prince Albert chaired Whewell (1854) or Faraday (1854f) on 29 April and 6 May 1854 respectively.
4
See Faraday, Diary, 11, 13, 14, 17 March 1854, 6: 13146-13188 for Faraday’s experiments on this topic.

Bibliography

FARADAY, Michael (1854f): Observations on Mental Education, London.

GAVIN, Charles Murray (1932): Royal Yachts, London.

WHEWELL, William (1854): On the Influence of the History of Science upon Intellectual Education, London.

Please cite as “Faraday2838,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday2838