Wind Energy
Katlyne Woods and Silvia Rivera
Description
Wind turbines convert wind into electricity that can be used to power houses, businesses, schools, etc..The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft connected to the generator and then produces electricity. Turbine blades are design in such a way that wind causes them to rotate, which rotates the shaft at a low speed. A gear at the end that it self is connected to small gear on high speed shaft that runs through alternator housing. The generator produces electricity the same way, magnetic rotor inside the generator on high speed shaft inside loops of copper wire that are wound around and iron core. The rotor creates "electromagnetic induction" as it spins around the inside of the core through the coils , which generates electrical power.
- weather vane- a device used to measure wind direction, wind direction is then reported by the way the wind blows, not the direction which the wind moves.
- Winds turbines convert 25 to 45 percent of the wind's kinetic energy into electricity.
Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine
Vertical Wind Turbine
Vertical Turbine in Water
Environmental Impact
The most serious environmental impact of wind energy is the negative effect on the flying populations.
Major Uses
Most people use wind energy to power houses, businesses, schools, and buildings.
History
By 200 B.C., simple windmills in China were pumping water, while vertical-axis windmills with woven reed sails were grinding grain in Persia and the Middle East. When the settlers took this technology to the new world in the late 19th century, they began using windmills to pump water for farms and ranches, and later, to generate electricity for homes and business.
- Windmills helped Holland become the world's most industrialized countries of the 17th century.
- American colonist
Cons of Wind Energy
- only places with good to superb wind speeds can use it
- makes a lot of noise
- the appearance
Why People Should Use Wind Energy
- Plentiful and renewable
- Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
- Helps keep air clean