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Biomimetics strikes again: Toronto-based WhalePower Corp. has been closely studying the flippers of humpback whales and putting their findings into a new breed of fan blade.

Turns out those little bumps on the edge of the whale's flippers, called tubercles, aren't just to make whales look purty; they "channel water flow across the flipper," resulting in 32% less drag than the smoother flippers found on other whales.

"...the tubercles...make the fan quieter, more efficient, and they're better at pushing down the air," says Monica Bowden, CEO of Envira-North, which is licensing the newly designed blades for a line of industrial ceiling fans.

Having drawn industrial-fan interest, WhalePower is now setting their sights on their next market: the windpower industry. Read the full article here.

via the star