Thar She Blows! Wind as a Renewable Energy Source
From old Holland to U.S. farms, windmills have long been used for pumping water and grinding grain. Today, the windmill's modern equivalent—a wind turbine—uses wind energy to generate electricity.Copyright Scott Bauer, Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Students learn about wind as a source of renewable energy and explore the advantages and disadvantages wind turbines and wind farms. They also learn about the effectiveness of wind turbines in varying weather conditions and how engineers work to create wind power that is cheaper, more reliable and safer for wildlife.
Moving air behaves like a fluid, so engineers study wind and its behavior for many purposes. They are interested in how fluids (air, water, gases) flow around various shapes. Visualizing flow patterns is important in designing cars, ships, airplanes, bicycles, helmets, clothing and fabrics, sports gear, wind breaks, or anything that air or water moves over. It is also important in mixing chemicals efficiently and understanding the weather patterns on Earth and planets. An understanding of fluid flow has resulted in more aerodynamic car shapes — modern vehicles designed with curved or more slanted front ends to reduce the amount that the wind pushes on the car as it moves forward. Engineers' use of wind tunnels and computer modeling has impacted the evolution of body positions for ice skaters, swimmers, divers, bicyclists, skiers and many other athletic pursuits.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Define wind energy as a renewable energy source.
- Define wind energy, wind turbine and wind farm.
- List some advantages and disadvantages of wind turbines.
- Recognize that engineers develop technologies that harness energy from the wind.