A mechanized device, also called a fanning mill, that separates chaff from threshed grain by creating an artificial airstream. It automates the ancient manual process of tossing grain into the wind so the lighter chaff blows away while the heavier grain falls back down, doing the same separation faster and independent of natural wind. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Introduced Year1737 is the Western mechanical fanning mill (Andrew Rodger, Scotland); a separate rotary winnowing fan was already documented in China by 1313 AD, and is not the date stored here. OriginA rotary winnowing fan was already in use in China by the time it was described in Wang Zhen's Nong Shu of 1313 AD. The mechanical fanning mill used in the West was separately invented by the Scottish farmer Andrew Rodger in 1737, who called his device a Fanner, and it spread widely through Scottish farms thereafter. 1 Connections
Associated With
winnowing is the step that follows flailing, separating grain from the chaff the flail loosened
Sources
1. Winnowing Machine (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationMechanization of the process sectionQuote, Mechanization of the process section
As the Industrial Revolution progressed, the winnowing process was mechanized by the invention of additional winnowing machines, such as fanning mills.
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