Windmillls concist of several parts, the rotars, the shaft, and a genera

tor. The rotors are the blades that harvest the wind and and spin around. The
shaft is a long rod that is attached to the rotors at one end and the other is c
onnected to the generator. The inside of a generator is made up of a conductor
and a ring of magnets. The conductor spins as the shaft spins. This generates
electricity in the magnets. Most windmills that we use today are used to genera
te electricity. These are called wind turbines. Some might have long, flat rot
ors. Howerver some may have curved rotors that that spin around the shaft.
Wind turbines require average wind speeds of at laest 21 km/h (13 mph).
Some of the largest of these windmills can stand 150 feet tall with blades half
the size of a football feild.
Most of the modern turbines have blades that are slighty twisted or curv
ed. This is so the blades can generate lift. The result of lift is a force tha
t is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction. Drag, is a force that is par
allel to the flow direction. The result of lift on a wind turbine is to give th
e blades an extra push, speeding up their rotation up faster than the wind. Thi
s is key, because higher speeds means you can make more energy and doubling the
rotation speed quadruples the effect on wind. The goal of wind turbine design w
as to have less drag and more lift. This increases the efficiency and the amount
of power you harvest. Blades are usally more wider and more rigid near the rot
or, where they need the most strength, and then taper off toward the tip. Some
engineers make windmills with only one or two blades to get greater airflow. Ho
wever these desings are harder to balance and need more maintenance. Over time,
engineers started putting three blades instend of one or two. This was done so
that the windmill would required less maintenance. In small wind turbines, the
rotor must attach to a generator, which is located in the housing, which is beh
ind the blades. For the generator, most wind turbines use an alternator, which
converts mechanical motion into electricity. Inside it are is a set of stationa
ry windings, known as the stator, and a set of rotating magnets called the rotor
.
Length

Shape

Wind Speed
Number
Material
Weight
Curvature
Pitch/Angle
Twist