What did Rotary Winnowing Fan look like?

A wooden box containing a rotary fan, with a feed hopper on top, a grain outlet at the front, and a chaff outlet at the rear.

How did Rotary Winnowing Fan work?

Hand crank drives the fan at high speed → generates airflow → grain falls from the hopper → the airstream blows light chaff toward the rear → heavy grain falls at the front.

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Rotary Winnowing Fan

A centrifugal winnowing fan using aerodynamic principles to separate grain from chaff and husks. The world's earliest agricultural aerodynamic device.

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Scientific Principle

Aerodynamics: a centrifugal fan generates directed airflow. Density difference of materials enables pneumatic separation.

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Rotary Winnowing Fan

Scientific Principle

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