From the "you know you want one" category in life... Dyson has come up with the bladeless fan. Engineers stumbled upon the concept when another project for a hand dryer exposed to them a radical new way to move air.
The Dyson Airblade uses sheets of clean air moving at 400 miles per hour (mph) making it more efficient than other hand dryers. Using the methodology behind that project the engineers spent four years honing the technology where no turbulence takes place.
This new type of fan if we can even call it that, works by pulling air in through the foot of the machine. The air is sent upwards through a circular airfoil ramp then exiting through the loop at jet speed. To the rest of us, it has a small turbine in the base, so yes it has blades just not conventional blades.
Mr. Dyson offered these comments about his companies invention, “We realized that this inducement, or amplification, effect could be further enhanced by passing airflow over a ramp, and of course this was the point where the idea of a bladeless fan became a real possibility. Here was a way to create turbulent-free air and finally do away with blades.”
What should you expect to pay for one of these babies? Start with $300 for a 10 inch model and $330 for a 12 inch unit. It is obvious this type of fan will be well suited for families with children, the rest of us can wait for the price to come down. Then again for those of us with spouses who can't sleep with a fan on... this may be the answer.
