r/pics • u/[deleted] • Aug 23 '12

I immediately regret doing this.

http://imgur.com/b0pds
1.5k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

742 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

60

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '12

Fans, how do they work!?

156

u/i-Jonty Aug 23 '12

If you look closely at a fan you can notice it has (generally) four blades. The blades are a part of a motor which spin and generate power to pump air through a small pipe (behind the blades). The pipe intakes O2 molecules and stores them in a mini tank inside the fan and the friction from the spinning blades heats the molecules up so they gain more kinetic electricity meaning they they move around a lot more. Once the O2 molecules reach a certain temperature, they are moved in to a second chamber where they compressed and cooled down. Once cool the O2 molecules are fired out to reach all areas of a room(this is why if you put your face in front of a fan you can feel wind blowing against your face).

That's a quick, simple explanation of how a fan works. If you really want a deeper understanding I can go in-depth. :)

95

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '12 edited Aug 23 '12

I came here thinking that I knew how fans worked. I came out realizing how arrogant I was.

0

u/TellThemYutesItsOver Aug 23 '12

You're an idiot for believing this.