The working wheel of hydraulic turbines, which are installed at all hydroelectric power plants, is not only a bulky structure but also a highly complex one. The history of its creation and improvement is filled with fascinating stories. One such episode took place in Novocherkassk about 30 years ago when Professor Milovich from the Polytechnic Institute was calculating the most advantageous arrangement of the blades. They needed to be positioned in a way that would allow water to do as much useful work as possible.
Back then, electronic calculators didn’t exist, so Milovich had to do his calculations on paper. One day, looking for a break, the professor visited the local museum and stumbled upon a nautilus shell, which is divided into chambers. Intrigued by these partitions, he made a remarkable discovery: nature, over millions of years, had mathematically optimized the buoyant home of the nautilus. The partitions in its shell were arranged precisely as needed for the most efficient turbine wheel.
This fortunate coincidence helped the professor quickly complete the intricate calculations for the turbine’s working wheel.