Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Low pressure on a spinning blade turns seawater into vapour, and the collapsing bubbles pit the metal. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a technology fact?

Yes. It sits on the Technology shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Fast propellers can boil the water around them

Low pressure on a spinning blade turns seawater into vapour, and the collapsing bubbles pit the metal A blade moving quickly through water drops the local pressure below vapour pressure, so cavities form in the flow and collapse as pressure recovers. Each collapse sends a shock wave into the surface, eroding metal, wasting thrust and making noise. Designers fight it with more blade area, slower rotation and better shaped sections, and navies listen for it. It sits in Mondo's technology collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Ships carry blocks of metal meant to corrodeZinc or aluminium anodes bolted to a steel hull dissolve first, protecting the steel from seawater Ships must treat ballast water before releaseTanks filled in one port are filtered, irradiated or dosed before discharge so stowaway species do not spread A bulbous bow cancels part of its own waveThe rounded projection makes a wave of its own that partly cancels the bow wave, lowering resistance Faster moving fluid creates lower static pressureBernoulli's principle explains how pressure drops when fluid or air velocity increases Buoyant force equals the weight of displaced fluidArchimedes principle governs why steel ships float despite their heavy total mass Non-Newtonian fluids change viscosity when force is appliedStirring or impacting oobleck causes it to instantly thicken into a solid-like state

Tags: ships, propellers, fluids

Fast propellers can boil the water around them: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Low pressure on a spinning blade turns seawater into vapour, and the collapsing bubbles pit the metal. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a technology fact?: Yes. It sits on the Technology shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.