Free Advice On Wind Energy

Now that I've got your complete attention, you'll find that they literally cover the horizon. They are beginning to pop up just about everywhere around us, and these massive structures tower up high into the distant horizon. I've seen them in magazines, on television, and now I've seen these giants of wonder in person. I started to get curious about them, so I decided to do a little research on the subject. In return I figured why not go ahead and share what I've learned in a hub with all of you fine people.

By now just about everyone in the world has seen a windmill, and if not then just simply take a little drive through the countryside, and you are sooner or later going to spot them in the horizon. Until then you can check out some of these photographs that I've taken. They are really a marvel to look up at, and watch while they are in motion.

Windmills are by no means something new to mankind. They have been around for a very very long time on this planet. Some of the earliest traces of windmills go all the way back to Babylonian times in the 17th century BC. They were found in Persia about 500 - 900 A.D.. The windmill was also known to be used in 1st century Greece, and 4th century Tibet and China.

Earlier windmills harnessed the free wind, and converted it into mechanical energy for grinding grain, pumping water, and milling lumber. Still today in Texas, and other western states windmills are used on remote pastures for pumping drinking water for livestock to drink.

Today windmills are known as wind turbines, and convert the mechanical energy from their spinning blades into 60 cycle AC electricity. Some of the larger wind turbines stand twenty stories high, and can produce enough electricity to power 1,400 homes. Wind turbines are a great supplement for fossil fuels, and a whole lot safer to use than that of nuclear power. Wind energy is really the way to go for those of us who wish to keep this planet green for future generations, and free wind energy can meet all of our electrical needs as well.

Today's aerodynamically designed wind turbines have come a long way from earlier windmills, back when the blades were made of wood or bundles of reeds.

Today's wind turbines are built on top of tall strong tubular steel towers to capture the most energy. There's either two or three large blades, which look very much like airplane wings. The blades are connected through a shaft to an electrical generator, which in turn produces electricity.

Wind turbines start operating at wind speeds of eight to sixteen mile per hour, but automatically shut off at speeds above 65 miles per hour to protect against overheating.

There are places around where you can see wind turbines grouped together on wind farms, literally filling up the horizon from a long distance away. From time to time you'll also see on the highways, a super long tractor trailer hauling one of these gigantic blades down the road with pilot cars. It's really quite a treat seeing either of these for the very first time. For most all of us this is rather new information, and hopefully after reading this hub, you might have learned something new from all of this while getting some free advice too.