Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
propeller
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Ship propeller. Turboprop engine driving a single rotation propeller
Quick Facts
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Ship propeller.
Ship propeller.

propeller

Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

propeller, device with a central hub and radiating blades placed so that each forms part of a helical (spiral) surface. By its rotation in water or air, a propeller produces thrust owing to aerodynamic or fluid forces acting upon the blades and gives forward motion to a ship or aircraft. In Great Britain the propeller of an airplane or the rotor of a helicopter is commonly called an airscrew.

A propeller’s thrust is proportional to the product of the mass of water or air that it is acting on and the accelerating rate. For the most efficient propulsion, the mass should be large and the acceleration small.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.