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why do the blades of an electric fan continue to rotate for some time after the current is switched off?

1 Answer

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Well, momentum.

Energy has been converted into the turning force. The fan spins, a lot,, gaining momentum. Once the power is off it still rotates as it has to continue releasing the momentum it had built up, but also slows down.

Try it with a liquid in a glass, stir it with a spoon quickly for a few seconds and remove the spoon. The liquid still spins, because you applied a turning force and the energy still has to go somewhere.

Humans can control momentum- if you spin around really fast for a while, you might stumble a little bit you won’t keep spinning — but you will get exceptionally dizzy after
User Georg Kastenhofer
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