Wind Energy Or Wind Turbines
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or pumping water, the device is called a windmill or wind pump. Developed for over a millennium, today's wind turbines are manufactured in a range of vertical and horizontal axis types. The smallest turbines are used for applications such as battery charging or auxiliary power on sailing boats; while large grid-connected arrays of turbines are becoming an increasingly large source of commercial electric power.
Windmills first appeared in Europe during the middle ages. The first historical records for their use in England date to the 11th or 12th centuries and there are reports of German crusaders taking their windmill-making skills to Syria around 1190. By the 14th century, Dutch windmills were in use to drain areas of the Rhine delta.
The first electricity generating wind turbine, was a battery charging machine installed in July 1887 by Scottish academic, James Blyth to light his holiday home in Marykirk, Scotland. Some months later American inventor Charles F Brush built the first automatically operated wind turbine for electricity production in Cleveland, Ohio. Although Blyth's turbine was considered uneconomical in the United Kingdom[8] electricity generation by wind turbines was more cost effective in countries with widely scattered populations. In Denmark by 1900, there were about 2500 windmills for mechanical loads such as pumps and mills, producing an estimated combined peak power of about 30 MW.
The largest machines were on 24-metre (79 ft) towers with four-bladed 23-metre (75 ft) diameter rotors. By 1908 there were 72 wind-driven electric generators operating in the US from 5 kW to 25 kW. Around the time of World War I, American windmill makers were producing 100,000 farm windmills each year, mostly for water-pumping. By the 1930s, windmills for electricity were common on farms, mostly in the United States where distribution systems had not yet been installed. In this period, high-tensile steel was cheap, and windmills were placed atop prefabricated open steel lattice towers.
Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT) have the main rotor shaft and electrical generator at the top of a tower, and must be pointed into the wind. Small turbines are pointed by a simple wind vane, while large turbines generally use a wind sensor coupled with a servo motor. Most have a gearbox, which turns the slow rotation of the blades into a quicker rotation that is more suitable to drive an electrical generator.
Since a tower produces turbulence behind it, the turbine is usually positioned upwind of its supporting tower. Turbine blades are made stiff to prevent the blades from being pushed into the tower by high winds. Additionally, the blades are placed a considerable distance in front of the tower and are sometimes tilted forward into the wind a small amount.
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Black Friday Madness & Abandoned Wind Turbines Now Litter America 1/2
(NaturalNews) Literal beacons of the "green" energy movement, giant wind turbines have been one of the renewable energy sources of choice for the US government, which has spent billions of taxpayer dollars subsidizing their construction and use across the country. But high maintenance costs, high rates of failure, and fluctuating weather conditions that affect energy production render wind turbines expensive and inefficient, which is why more than 14000 of them have since been abandoned. Before government subsidies for the giant metals were cut or eliminated in many areas, wind farms were an energy boom business. But in the post-tax subsidy era, the costs of maintaining and operating wind turbines far outweighs the minimal power they generate in many areas, which has left a patchwork of wind turbine graveyards in many of the most popular wind farming areas of the US. "Thousands of abandoned wind turbines littered the landscape of wind energy's California 'big three' locations which include Altamont Pass, Tehachapin and San Gorgonio, considered among the world's best wind sites," writes Andrew Walden of the American Thinker. "In the best wind spots on earth, over 14000 turbines were simply abandoned. Spinning, post-industrial junk which generates nothing but bird kills." Walden speaks, of course, about the birds, bats, and other air creatures that routinely get tangled in and killed by wind turbine propellers. And as far as the "post-industrial junk" language, well, if it ...
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Wind Sports
South Padre Island, Texas is one of the most beautiful wind sport destinations in the world. Anything from sailing, windsurfing, and kite boarding. South Padre Island is a barrier reef island connected to Port Isabel by a 2 mile bridge. The island is surrounded by a shallow bay on the west side and the Gulf Of Mexico on it's east.
The bay is perfect for day sailing. The wind is more controlled so there is very little wake. This insures a peaceful cruise with very few bumps. One of the best types of sailing in the bay is on a smaller sloop. These have comfortable seating for passengers but also the excitement of the boat keeling over (leaning to one side) a bit. On this type of boat you will usually find a small cuddy cabin and on some a head (bathroom). The cuddy cabin gives you a small break from the sun and is also good storage for cold drinks and a picnic lunch.
Another fun type of sailing on the bay is Hoby-Cat sailing.
A Hoby-Cat is a much smaller sailboat but definetly a fun ride. This boat consists of two hulls with a tightly wound mesh in between for seating. Hoby-Cats are traditionally faster boats, so be prepared to get a little wet. With enough wind you can throw on a harness and hang off the side, this keeps the boat balanced but also proves to be a very exciting ride.
My favorite sailing is on a larger sailboat sailing out in the Gulf Of Mexico. The larger boat gets everyone involved, if they want to be, in the sailing process. The more boat you have the more space for walking around and lounging. The Gulf of Mexico on the coast of South Padre Island has some of the most beautiful wildlife. For a few, it is home to the north Atlantic bottle nose dolphin and some of the most beautiful sea turtles in the world.
Kite boarding and windsurfing are personal wind crafts.
Both are very exciting but should only be tried after professional instruction. Both of these sports your craft is your board. With windsurfing your propeller is a sail attached to your board which you control with a bar in the middle.It is extremely exciting with the potencial of learning alot about saing which can help you move on to other wind vessels. With Kiteboarding you are propelled by a kite connected to by a harness and a handlebar. The size kite you use depends on the wind speed of that day. As you change direction of the kite it leads you in that direction. This also can be done in both the bay and the gulf. The Gulf is full of waves to jump with more wind so if adventure is what your after once again this is the place for you.
I love the windsports South Padre Island has to offer, along with it's many other wonders. If you liked this article and would like to learn more about more fun activities on South Padre Island Please see my resource box.
Regina zeuner would love to continue sharing island experiences with you. For more exciting stories and adventures please visit our website at http://www.realsailingcharters.com For more on this article please go to http://www.realsailingcharters.com/Fun-Things-South-Padre-Island.html