Wind comes from solar
energy.
Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the
sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth.
Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth's terrain, bodies of water,
and vegetative cover. This wind flow, or motion energy, can be used by
us to do work (such as grind corn) and when "harvested" by modern
wind turbines can be used to generate electricity.
Wind energy is more
efficient in some parts of the country than others, because some parts
of the country are windier than others. As wind technology gets better
and better, more and more places will be able to utilize the wind's ability
to produce power.
As
wind hits the blades of a wind machine, such as a windmill, it begins
to spin the blades. This in turn spins an engine called a turbine. The
turbine is designed to produce electricity as it spins. The electricity
that is produced is then sent to a battery, where it is stored for use
or is set to the National Grid for people all over the country to use.
The KE of the air molecules is transferred to rotational
KE in the turbine and then the generator changes it to electrical energy
(by electromagnetic induction).
History
Windmills
have been used for many centuries for pumping water and milling grain.
There is evidence that wind energy was used to propel boats along the
Nile River as early as 5000 B.C. Within several centuries before Christ,
simple windmills were used in China to pump water.
They became redundant in many places as the power age
of steam and electricity dawned but now there has been a revival of interest
in wind energy and attempts are underway all over the world to re-introduce
it in cost-effective wind energy conversion systems
In developing countries, wind power can play a useful role for water supply
and irrigation
(windpumps) and electrical generation (wind generators).
The power from the wind is proportional to the cube of
wind velocity, air density and the area swept out by the blades. Therefore
the faster the air transfer and the large the blades the greater the amount
of energy that can be converted.
Wind
turbines vary in size, and therefore power ratings. The largest machines
have propellers that span the more than the length of a football field
and stand 20 building stories high. One that big can produce enough electricity
to power 1400 homes. A small home-sized wind machine has rotors between
8 and 25 feet in diameter and stands upwards of 30 feet and can supply
the power needs of an all-electric home or small business.
Wind farms have many wind machines all connected together
- they can power a small town.
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