With the world's very heavy dependence on carbon-based fuels, such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas, scientists and engineers are trying to find new power sources. One alternate choice to ordinary fuels is green energy.
Renewable power sources include wind and water power generation. In fact, wind energy, the central focus here, has a rich history of development and research.
The Persians utilized the earliest wind powered machines around 500 to 900 A.D. Basically, they constructed the first known wind mills that aided in pumping water and grinding grain, but no archaeologists have found designs for their machines.
Some claim that China employed windmills over 2,000 years back, although the earliest documentation of the Chinese's usage of the windmills dates back to the early thirteenth century. The Chinese too employed the windmills for pumping water and grinding grain.
For the next five to six centuries, Western Europe went on to improve the windmill. First, we see a swap from the former Persian and Mediterranean vertical shaft to a horizontal one, increasing the machine's power.
Other improvements included blades with a sail, reinforcing the aerodynamic lift, and the right placement of the camber, blade spar, and center of gravity, also maximizing the sail's efficiency. Despite the rise of steam-generated electricity, the utilising of windmills significantly reduced.
Into the nineteenth century, the U.S. finalized the windmill model, as the Americans still basically used them for pumping water. However, in 1887 Professor James Blyth from Scotland built the first electricity-generating wind turbine. Charles F. Bush of Ohio created the first American version in 1888, and Poul la Cour of Denmark built the first one in continental Europe in the 1890's.
In 1931, the Russians built the first significant utility-scale wind turbine with a nominal capacity of 100 kilowatts. In 1941, the Americans followed the lead with the Smith-Putnam wind turbine, which boasted a nominal capacity of 1.25 megawatts.
Though development on wind power continued after World War Ii, it was not until the 1970's that wind energy received serious attention as petroleum shortages scared the modern world. Today, scientists and engineers continue to develop wind power as a clean alternative option to fossil fuel energy.
Renewable power sources include wind and water power generation. In fact, wind energy, the central focus here, has a rich history of development and research.
The Persians utilized the earliest wind powered machines around 500 to 900 A.D. Basically, they constructed the first known wind mills that aided in pumping water and grinding grain, but no archaeologists have found designs for their machines.
Some claim that China employed windmills over 2,000 years back, although the earliest documentation of the Chinese's usage of the windmills dates back to the early thirteenth century. The Chinese too employed the windmills for pumping water and grinding grain.
For the next five to six centuries, Western Europe went on to improve the windmill. First, we see a swap from the former Persian and Mediterranean vertical shaft to a horizontal one, increasing the machine's power.
Other improvements included blades with a sail, reinforcing the aerodynamic lift, and the right placement of the camber, blade spar, and center of gravity, also maximizing the sail's efficiency. Despite the rise of steam-generated electricity, the utilising of windmills significantly reduced.
Into the nineteenth century, the U.S. finalized the windmill model, as the Americans still basically used them for pumping water. However, in 1887 Professor James Blyth from Scotland built the first electricity-generating wind turbine. Charles F. Bush of Ohio created the first American version in 1888, and Poul la Cour of Denmark built the first one in continental Europe in the 1890's.
In 1931, the Russians built the first significant utility-scale wind turbine with a nominal capacity of 100 kilowatts. In 1941, the Americans followed the lead with the Smith-Putnam wind turbine, which boasted a nominal capacity of 1.25 megawatts.
Though development on wind power continued after World War Ii, it was not until the 1970's that wind energy received serious attention as petroleum shortages scared the modern world. Today, scientists and engineers continue to develop wind power as a clean alternative option to fossil fuel energy.
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Barnhart Crane & Rigging Company has been providing services to the wind power market for decades. Learn more about their crane service and machinery moving .
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