Tapping The Power Of The Wind
Other than hydro power and solar power, wind power is another form of cheap, clean and environmentally friendly energy that can be put to good use. Many countries have adopted these technology to tap into these free source of power. The Netherlands being a windy country by nature is one of the major users to tap the power of the wind.
For the uninitiated, looking at a wind mill may be very puzzling to them. They will be wondering how with the whirling of those big giant fins, electrical power can be produced. A brief explanation will be very enlightening experience.
To understand how wind can generate electricity, you have to understand how electricity is produced first. Basically, in very simple terms, electricity is produced when a piece of magnet is turned vigorously round a coil of copper wires. To go into an in-depth explanation may take a whole book, so for his brief post, we just have to imagine a giant magnet being rotated inside a giant coil of copper around it which is encased in a giant turbine.
In conventional power producing plants, the giant magnet are rotated with the use of a diesel or gas powered motors. In recent years due to the world supply of these fuel getting short, scientist have turned to neucler power to run those motors.
Another way is to use the power of water to push the magnet into rotation thereby saving on fuel. Try to imagine the propellers of motorboats. The magnets have propellers attached to them in order to absorb the power of the gushing water which may be a few million gallons per minute. The theory and the end result is the same. A magnet rotating inside a coil of copper wire. Which produces electrical power.
Coming back to wind generators. The fins you see turning on the giant windmills are attached to the magnets by rods and gears so that when the fin turns, the rods and gears attached to those fins will turn the piece of magnet to create electricity. The greatest disadvantage is of course, wind. There must be wind blowing in order to untilize this power. For those who stays in windy areas, they can actually generate their own electricity with a simple DIY Home Built Wind Generator. Information are readily available around the Internet teaching those interested in tapping the power of the wind to light up their resident.
