Submarines may soon have Fins

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Following on from research conducted by William Megill at the Centre for Biomimetic & Natural Technologies, based at the University in Bath in the UK, it would appear that the shape of submarines may change radically over the next decade in that, rather than being propelled by propellers, they may in future rely on fins for propulsion.

The propulsion system presently being envisaged was inspired by Cape Moony fish, also known as the Knifefish, which, rather than flex their bodies in order to provide motion, utilise an extended fin on their underside which provides thrust by means of undulation.

Known as WaveDrive, the benefits of such a means of propulsion are numerous as, not only would such vessels prove to be extremely agile but the use of these WaveDrive fins would also offer far greater energy efficiency – present means of propulsion based on propellers is only 75% efficient whereas the thrust generated by these use of these fins would offer a vastly improved 98% energy efficiency rating.