-
Jan 1, 1000
1st windmill, 1st Century Ad
1st century AD
Heron of Alexandria is credited with the invention of the windmill. He used the power of the wind to power an organ. The windmill blades were attached to an axle that moved a set of pistons up and down to provide power to the organ. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-wind-turbines -
Period: Jan 1, 1000 to
Product Evolution:Turbine
1st Century AD- Modern day -
Jan 9, 1000
Vertical axis turbines, 9th Century AD
9th Century AD
The Persians made vertical axis windmills that were used to pump water or to grind corn. The vertical sails were most likely made out of reeds and wood. The sails were inside a set of walls with an open door in front that would let the wind through the machine. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-wind-turbines -
Jan 12, 1000
Post Turbines, 12th Century AD
Post windmills were being used in Europe. This type of windmills were made on a vertical post and was set on a rotational post so the entire machine could rotate to face the wind. These vertical windmills were usually used for grinding grains or pumping water. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-wind-turbines -
Jan 13, 1000
Tower Mills, 13th Century AD
Tower mills were the new big deal in the 13th century in Western Europe like an Iphone 6s. Tower Mill windmills were built on large stone towers with the rotor and blades attached to a rotating cap that was mounted on top of the tower. A wind vane was also fixed behind the blades to help guide the rotating cap towards the wind. Almost like plane turbines. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-wind-turbines -
Jan 19, 1000
Automatically operated wind turbine, 19th Century AD
In 1887 American inventor Charles Brush made the first automatically operated wind turbine. Called a wind turbine, not a windmill, because it was used to generate electricity. The wind turbine weighed four tons and powered a 12 kW generator. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-wind-turbines -
The Savonius Wind Turbine, 1922
The savonius wind turbine, a vertical axis turbine invented by engineer Sigurd Johannes Savonius. The savonius turbine is a drag turbine, meaning that its rotational energy comes from the actual push of the wind. These are low efficiency turbines that are more commonly used as anemometers than electrical generating turbines. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-wind-turbines -
The Giromill Wind Turbine
The Giromill wind turbine is a Darrieus designed vertical axis turbine. The Giromill turbine uses lift instead of drag and is usually made with two or three aerofoils that attach and rotate around a central axis tower.(In the picture) The giromill is a low efficiency turbine because it needs strong wind speeds to start rotating. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-wind-turbines -
Modern Wind Turbine
The modern wind turbine was made from years of innovation and scientific research. Today, most modern wind turbines are from the horizontal-axis family and have three blades. The wind turbine blades are designed like to airplane wings and use the lift from the wind to rotate. The amount of electricity that a modern wind turbine produces varies with the size and location of the wind turbine, but most commercial turbines often range from 1.0MW – 2.5MW. http://turbinegenerator.org/evolution-
