The ring thing

Britain: Are you looking for the UK's coolest new product? You might want to see the latest creation by British inventor Sir James Dyson: a powerful air fan — with no blades.

Fans of Dyson know he is the innovative designer who produced a bagless vacuum cleaner and high-performance hand dryers. Dyson’s latest product, the Air Multiplier, offers a radical air-cooling concept. The fan is a large plastic ring on a pedestal. The blades are hidden inside the pedestal, and when they rotate, they suck air in at the base and push it out along the inside of the ring.

There are safety benefits in the new design, and Dyson says his invention not only moves the air through the fan more efficiently, but that the cooling effect is more pleasant. "Normal fans chop up the air with the blade, which is very uncomfortable when you are sitting in front of a fan. It buffets you. This is far smoother," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"Normal fans chop up the air, which is very uncomfortable," says James Dyson.

However, design innovation is rarely cheap, and the Air Multiplier will cost around €250. Dyson hopes to sell his creation mainly on the US, Australian and Japanese markets. Or perhaps he should aim for certain professions. Politicians, for example, are known for producing lots of hot air.