Wind Turbines
Answer to Last Week’s Question: The Alternating Current system used today was devised in the late nineteenth century by Nikola Tesla.
This week we began construction of our wind turbines. During this process, as the design of our turbine began to take shape, I became interested in the history of wind turbines and how they came to be used in the manner which they are used today.
According to Wikipedia, machines powered by wind were used for grinding grain in Persia as early as 200 B.C. They were later used for the same function in the Roman Empire. By the 14th century, windmills were being used for more advanced purposes in Denmark, such as to drain areas of the Rhine River delta. By 1900 in Denmark there were approximately 2500 windmills used for mechanical loads such as pumps and mills. The first windmill built for the production of electricity was constructed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888, and by 1908 there were 72 wind-driven electric generators. The largest machines were on 79 ft towers with four-bladed 75 ft diameter rotors. Around the time of World War I, windmill makers in America were producing 100,000 windmills each year, most for water-pumping actions. By the 1930s, windmills for the production of electricity were common on farms.
The forerunner of modern wind generators was in service at Yalta, Russia in 1931.
Question: What are “wind farms” ?
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