How does a wind generator work?
I'm trying to figure this out, but all I'm getting is the steps it takes for the wind energy to turn to electrical. TELL ME THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT!!
Best answer:
Answer by AtheniusWins
A wind generator is better known as a wind turbine; the term "wind generator" implies a fan device that creates wind. In fact, a wind turbine is designed to convert wind into electrical energy. Wind is a phenomenon that might be classified as a solar energy. It is caused by differences in air temperature resulting from uneven solar heating. The earth's rotation is a factor as well. The presence and strength of wind can be modified by such things as terrain and the presence of large bodies of water. For these reasons, there are certain parts of the world that experience consistent strong winds, which wind turbines are designed to take advantage of.
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Wind generators use wind velocity to generate electricity. The wind turns a large propeller, similar to an airplane propeller, the prop is connected to a generator. As the generator turns, it generates electricity which is sent to the electrical distribution system.
The detailed science part is how a generator works. Which is complicated. A simple AC generator has two magnetic fields, one of which rotates, as the rotating field interacts with the stationary field, electrical current is produced.
Wind has energy in it just like anything with mass that moves. Water has a lot of mass for a certain volume, therefore it is easier to extract energy from water.
But back to wind. Wind is just a mass of air that moves with a certain velocity.
The Kinetic energy of any mass is this formula 1/2 mass * velocity squared. So the faster the air is moving the more mass is moving and the more velocity it has. With the velocity squared that means if air is going 10 mph and it doubles up to 20 mph you don’t just get twice the energy , you get FOUR times the energy. That’s why higher air speeds makes such a difference in wind turbines.
But now that you have moving air, the trick is how do you take that kinetic energy out of the air and do something useful with it. Moving air has no use to us, so we have to convert that energy into something humans find more useful.
So a propeller is placed in the path of the moving air. The moving air has to go around the propeller. But going with Newtons laws of opposite and equal reactions, when the air moves around the propeller it moves the propeller in the opposite direction to the direction the air is diverted. Propellers are designed to make the wind change it’s direction the most possible. The air enters the propeller at a straight angle, but the shape of the airfoil turns the air almost 90 degrees to the side. So all the forward kinetic energy the wind had when it hit the blades is redirected a different direction which normally wouldn’t take power to turn the wind another direction if the blade was held rigid, but in the wind blade case the blade moves in the opposite direction to the redirected wind so the blade extracts the kinetic energy from the wind (up to 59% theoretically) and the redirected wind leaves the propeller blade with a lot less kinetic energy because it gave it’s energy to the turning propeller