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Wind Energy History

If you were to track the history of wind power over the ages, you would see that it has evolved from the use of  simple, light devices driven by drag forces to heavy  drag devices and then again to light and efficient devices that use aerodynamics. Wind power was first put in use for the sailboat and from this developed the sail type windmills. The first windmill was developed in Persia around 500-900 A.D. The wind wheel of Heron of Alexandria was one of these. The earliest windmills were used for grinding of grain and pumping of water. Though the method used for pumping water are not known due to lack of drawings, the method used for grinding the grain was very simple. The grinding stone was fixed to the shaft of the windmill. A shield blocked the incoming wind from slowing down the drag rotor.  Vertical axis windmills were first developed in China.  One of the applications of windmills that still exist is on the island of Crete where it is used for pumping water for crops and livestock.

In the twelfth century, windmills began to appear in Europe. These windmills were more advanced than the one built by the Persians. These were horizontal axis windmills, also known as post mills and used wooden cog and ring gears to convert the motion of the horizontal shaft to the vertical motion required to grind grain. In the 1390’s the Dutch began to refine the tower mill design. They devoted separate floors for grinding grain, removing chaff and storing grain. The post mill was fixed on the top of the multi-storied tower. The wind smith and his family lived on the lowest floor. The wind smith had to push a long lever to manually orient the wind into the tower design. He was also responsible for optimizing windmill energy and output and protecting it from storms by unfurling the sails.

By the time the 20th century rolled in, the windmill design became more and more sophisticated. The wind turbine used to generate electricity was constructed by the Danish scientist, Pour La Cour. Windmill was first used for large-scale generation of electricity in Ohio. By the 20th century, with concerns about global warming, fossil fuel depletion and rising oil prices, wind power began to show more and more potential as an alternative source of energy.

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