5/20/2015

NewWindTurbineGeneratesElectricityWithoutRotatingBlades|IFLScience

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TECHNOLOGY

New Wind Turbine Generates Electricity Without

Rotating Blades
May18,2015|byCarolineReid

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photocredit:BladelesswindturbinebyVortex

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Thisnewwindturbinewobbleselegantlyinthewind,generatingelectricitywithoutrotating
blades.Itlookslikeasparagus,saysDavidSuriol,oneofthefounders.
ASpanishcompanycalledVortexBladelesshasproducedawindturbinethattakes
advantageofthevorticesproducedwhenwindmovesaroundanobstacle.
Ifyouputanyobjectinthepathofthewind,itwillcreateanundulatingvortexbehindthe
barrier.Thisisaproblemthathasplaguedengineersforyears:bridgeshavefallendueto
windeddies.
VortexBladelessengineershavedesignedtheirturbinetotakeadvantageofthisvortex.
Thethin,coneshapedturbineismadeofcarbonfiberandfiberglasswiththemotoratthe
bottominsteadofthetop(liketraditionalturbines)toimprovesturdiness.Thedesign
ensuresthatthewind'svortexspinssynchronouslyalongtheentirecone.Theswirlshave
toworktogethertoachievegoodperformance,Villarrealexplains.Thereisalsoaringof
magnetsatthebaseoftheconethatgivetherotationsaboostregardlessofwindspeed.

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TherearemanyadvantagestothenewVortexdesign:Itischeapertomanufacturethan
currentpinwheelturbines.Maintenancepricesarealsolowerbecausethereisnofriction
frommechanicallymovingparts(e.g.,thebladesonatraditionalturbine),which
reducestheneedforoilingandboltreplacement.Itiscompletelysilentandbirdscanfly
aroundthemsafely(thoughithasyettobeannouncedwhethertheturbineisnestproof.)
Newwindtechnology,however,alwaysreceivessomeskepticism:Mostwindharvesting
technologiesonlyworkatafractionoftheirmostefficientoutput.Windturbinesneed
smooth,laminarairflowthekindyouonlyreallyfindatabout100meters(328feet)above
theground.Thewindthatweknowandlovetohateisturbulent,messyandgenerallyno
goodforwindturbines.Vortexclaimsthattheirwindturbinecanadapttoanywindspeed
withtheassistanceofthemagnetsinitscorehowever,thedetailsonhowthisactually
worksarefrustratinglyhardtocomeby.
TheVortexdevicehasbeencomputationallymodeled,testedinawindtunnel,andthere
areprototypesoutintheopen,butdetailsontestscarriedoutbythecompanyor
independentlabsarecurrentlyscant.Itisalsonotthefirstwindturbinetotakeadvantage
ofoscillatorytechnology.Researchersinthe'80sfoundthattheswirlingoscillationswere
toorandomforreliablepowergeneration,andthespeedofoscillationsputalotofstress
onthestructureandcausedittobreakdownunexpectedly.
Theideahasn'tbeenterriblysuccessfulinthepast,soitwillbeinterestingtoseehow
VortexBladelesstacklesthesechallenges.Whilethisinventionmightnotrevolutionize
Earth'srenewablepowersourcesjustyet,it'sstillexcitingtoseewhatdesignersare
creating.
Readthisnext:AntarcticIceShelfSetToCollapseWithinACentury

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bladeless,windturbine,vortex

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67Comments
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Pepijn 17hoursago

"Thereisalsoaringofmagnetsatthebaseoftheconethatgivetherotationsa
boostregardlessofwindspeed."thisisringingalarmbellsforme.Soundslike

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/newbladelesswindturbinelooksasparagus

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NewWindTurbineGeneratesElectricityWithoutRotatingBlades|IFLScience

boostregardlessofwindspeed."thisisringingalarmbellsforme.Soundslike
pseudoscience.Couldyouelaborateonthis?Isthereactuallyagoodreasonfor
thesemagnets,forinstancereducingfrictionorsomethinglikethat?
9

Share

TomaszSzewczyk 18hoursago

ItscalledVOrtexSheddingMrOnlinedegreefakeroInigineeero
1

Share

DavidEbert adayago

Didyouknowthatanysecondhandelectricmotorturnedbackwardsisa
generator?Youcansetupyourowngenerationsystemwithsecondhandgear
usinganykineticenergysource.Trydiggingamillraceonthatstreambyyour
house,makeapaddletoharnessthewindinthattalltreeinyouryard,puta
generatoronanexercisebiketorunaTV...useyourimagination.Iknowaguy
whofiguredoutanelectricbikeforhimself,thatuseslittleelectricmotorsto
chargethebatterywhenhe'sgoingdownhillorpedaling.Heneverhasto
separatelychargethebattery,andalwayshasextrapowerwhenhegetstired.
Hestartedoutbyusingtwooldfashionedheadlightgenerators,butfoundsome
smallmotorsthatworkedbetter.Thisisfunstuff.
6

Share

backprop>DavidEbert 18hoursago

Well,notjust'any'motor.AtypicalA/Cmotorwon't,forexample.So,don't
justgooutandspinanyoldmotorandhopeelectricitycomesout!
2

Share

GuyC>DavidEbert 19hoursago

Soundsgreat.NowIjustneedtodivertawatercoursetorunnearenough
towhereIlive...
:D
2

Share

1337>DavidEbert 20hoursago

AskhimtoshareonaDIYtutorialwebsiteplease.
2

Share

richardstarr adayago

I'veseenthistypeofthingbefore.
Itwillbeniceifitactuallyismoreefficientthistime.
Efficiencymeaningpowergatheredusingthesameacreageontheground.
Idon'tcareifyouuse5oftheminthespaceofonetraditionaldevice,especiallyif
themaintenancecostsreallyarethatlow.
2

Share

GordBestwick adayago

I'llbecuriousastotheefficiencyvscostvstraditionalwindmills.Ithinkthesewill
onlytakeoffiftheyoffersomekindofefficiency.
1

Share

mohawk16 adayago

Whenachieved,commerciallyviablenuclearfusionwillsolvetheworld'senergy
&pollutionproblems.
3

Share

CedrikS.Charette adayago

findawaytocaptureLightningEnergyinabattery,thenthiswillbeuseless^_^
theonewhowilldothiswillbethenextBillGateslol
1

Share

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NewWindTurbineGeneratesElectricityWithoutRotatingBlades|IFLScience
Grebysama>CedrikS.Charette adayago

Actuallythere's...
Justthatalightingistooshorttochargealampforhalfahour...
3

Share

iksnilol>Grebysama 20hoursago

Eh,lightninghasmuchmoreenergythanthat.
2

Share

WHL>CedrikS.Charette adayago

Keyword:inabattery.

Share

lordofdarkness>WHL adayago

whywouldyouwantabatterythatpowersalampforhalfanhour?

Share

DesmondKenpachiKnowles>lordofdarkness
adayago

Areyoutellingmethatyouthinkalightningstormonlyhas
onelightningstrike?Thinkmultiplestrikestofillthebattery
orseveralbatteriesperstorm.

Share

Stacey>DesmondKenpachiKnowles 20hoursago

Youstillhavetofindawaytocatchallthoselightningbolts.
Withhowrandomandirregularlightningcanbe,evenin
areaswithtallbuildingswithlightningrods,it'sjustreally
hardtocatchthem.
EventheEmpireStateBuildingonlygetshitabout25times
eachyear.
Theproblemisthatit'dbehugelyexpensivetohavean
areaoflightningcapturingdevices,andyouwouldhaveto
coverhugeamountsofarea.
It'djustbeanenormousinvestmentwithverylowreturn.
2

Share

lordofdarkness>DesmondKenpachiKnowles
21hoursago

Soundsveryinefficient,andwasteful.Ihopeyourbatteries
arerechargeable.Ifoneboltisequaltohalfanhour,a
wholestormisn'tgoingtomakeadifference.Betterto
harnessthepowerofkid'slaughtfromthatMonstermovie.
2

Share

ErlendshamarEriksen>lordofdarkness
20hoursago

Oneboltisvastlysuperiortothat,butharnessingthefull
energyofitwillbeverydifficult,that'sall.Butagain,the
batterythingisaproblem.Ifyoufindadifferentwaytostore
theenergy,however,wemaybesingingadifferenttune.If
youfindakineticneareternitymachineanduselightningto
powerit,itcanstorevastamountsofenergywithonlya
smallenergyloss.Wehavehadmultiplesuchmachines
madeinthepast,somerunningforyears,buttheywereall
lowenergy,whichobviouslymakesiteasiertokeepup...If
wecouldproperlyharnessthepoweroflightning,we'd
haveahugepowersourcerighttherehowever,it'shorribly
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difficult,andweneedbrilliantinnovationstodothat,notjust
rethinksofcurrentideasandprinciples.

Share

wl adayago

How'sthataturbinewhenit'sobviouslyabaseballbat?
8

Share

PsychoJedi adayago

Ifwecanhavejustonerenewablesourceofenergythatalsodoesn'tkillwildlife,
thatwouldbeawesome.

Share

PeterCollings>PsychoJedi 20hoursago

DomesticcatskillseveralhundredmillionbirdsperyearintheUSalone,
tensofmillionsarekilledflyingintobuildings.Comparedtothat,the
relativelyminisculenumberofbirdskilledinturbinestrikesisutterly
irrelevant.
4

Share

ErlendshamarEriksen>PeterCollings 19hoursago

Theproblemlieswiththekindsofbirdsthatdon'tdietocatsand
flyingintobuildings,andareataratherlowpopulationalready.
Speciallyinotherwisewildareaswheredomesticcatsand
buildingsdon'texist,windmillsareadangerousfactor,when1
windmillaloneiscapableofkilling10%ofthelocalpopulation,if
yourluckisbad.
1

Share

RachelTerry>PsychoJedi adayago

Geothermal..
1

Share

PsychoJedi>RachelTerry adayago

Thisoneishardtosay,sofarallitdoesisincreasetheriskof
earthquakes,butsayifsomeoneweretogetthebrightideaof
settingoneupinMontanatofeedoffthemassiveamountofenergy
flowingfromthesupervolcanobeneathYellowstone,theycould
eitherpowertheentirecontinent,orblowuphalfthecountry.For
mytake,I'dsaythejuryisout.

Share

Rye>PsychoJedi adayago

SolarPower?
2

Share

PsychoJedi>Rye adayago

SolarPowerbarbecuesbirdsintheair,sorrytosay:(

Share

JohannesBecker>PsychoJedi adayago

Thatstatementishighlymisleading.RegularPVpanelsdo
nosuchthing.Whatyouarereferringtoareparabolic
thermalbasedinstallationsintendedforlargescaleprojects
maybeyoucouldemploysomekindof"scarecrow"
method(annoyingsoundfrequencies,optical,...)tomake
birdsavoidthearea.It'snotageneralproblemofsolar,just
ofoneveryspecifictechnologywithinsolar.
6

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NewWindTurbineGeneratesElectricityWithoutRotatingBlades|IFLScience
DesmondKenpachiKnowles>PsychoJedi adayago

Everyonehassolarpanelsontheirroofs.NotGiantsolar
thermalpowerplantswhichdoindeedkillbirds.
2

Share

Dave>PsychoJedi adayago

http://www.worldcrunch.com/tec...

Share

PretenderNX01>PsychoJedi adayago

Largepanelsaren'ttheonlywaytogetsolarpower.There
wasakid,AidanDwyer,whocreateda"tree"usingsmall
panelssetinaparticularpatterncalledtheFibonacci
sequence.
Nofryingwildlifesincethearesmallandatalldifferent
anglesandnoneedtoturntheonegiantpanelyouhaveso
theydon'tloseenergy.Infacttheyaremoreefficientover
all.
1

Share

PsychoJedi>PretenderNX01 adayago

Coolbeans,isitthesametreethatalsoactsasawater
purifierandwifihotspot?Ivaguelyrememberreadingan
articleaboutthatafewmonthsback.

Share

DarrinWoodard>PsychoJedi adayago

ICYMITheyhavesolarpowerforhomesthatdoesn'tfry
birds.Stopwaitingforsomebodyelsetosolveyour
problems.Visityourlocalhardwarestoreandstart
producinginsteadofbeingaleech.
2

Share

PsychoJedi>DarrinWoodard adayago

Thanks,Dad.
2

Share

DarrinWoodard>PsychoJedi adayago

Ahhthatmomentwhenyourproblemsaresolved,butyour
immatureattitudeonlyvocalizescriticism.Youarewhatwe
callacurmudgeon.
Dad
1

Share

PsychoJedi>DarrinWoodard adayago

Curmudgeon,huh?Idobelieveyoujustleveleduptoa
Grandpa.
5

Share

JohnGreen>PsychoJedi adayago

Dependswhattypeofsolaryou'retalkingabout.
Traditional,standalonesolarpanelsdon'tfrybirds,butthe
solararraysthatdirectlighttoacentralpointtosuperheat
water,ofcourse,caneasilygenerateenoughheattokill
birds

Share

PsychoJedi>JohnGreen adayago

It'sanissuewe'llprobablysolveeventually,wejustneed
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NewWindTurbineGeneratesElectricityWithoutRotatingBlades|IFLScience

It'sanissuewe'llprobablysolveeventually,wejustneed
moreefficientsolarpanelsthatcollectalltheenergythat
hitsthem,insteadofreflectingmostofitbackatour
featheryfriends.Thatorputallsolarpanelsinspaceand
beamtheenergybacktoearthviamicrowaves.

Share

EnioMoura>PsychoJedi adayago

Youknow,onlylargesolarpowerplantscankillbirds,
becausetheyusefocusedmirrors,notsolarpanels.
Solarpanelsaremoreofapersonalusethingandthey
can'tkillbirdsanymorethanthesunitselfcan.
1

Share

PsychoJedi>EnioMoura adayago

Gotcha,butistherereallyaneedtonitpick?Wereyouatall
confusedaboutwhatIwasgettingat?

Share

EnioMoura>PsychoJedi adayago

Yes,youwastalkingaboutsolarpanelsandtalkingabout
howmuchtheyreflectsunlight,tothepointofkillingbirds.
Teeechnicallytheydoreflectsunlight,butthat'sless
sunlightthatmadeit'swaytotheminthefirstplace.
2

Share

PsychoJedi>EnioMoura adayago

IsaidSolarPowerkillsbirds,Iusedthewordsolarpanels
inanotherpostinreferencetoaneedtobetterthe
technology,I'lljustusethephraseSolarCellsfromnowon,
wouldthatmakeyouhappy?

Share

EnioMoura>PsychoJedi adayago

Solarpowerwasgoodandspotonhaha
Bytheway,microwavebeamedpoweriskindofadeadly
weapontoo,sothere'sthat.

Share

PsychoJedi>EnioMoura adayago

Yeah,it'slikelytocomewithitsownsetofissues,we're
screwedprettymucheverywayweturn,here'shoping
someonefiguresoutcoldfusion.

Share

JustinCCorcoran>PsychoJedi 18hoursago

forcoldfusiontoreachnewhorizonsweneedtobeableto
formulateextremelyefficientcompositematerialsofroom
tempsuperconductors.

Share

MrJC22173>PsychoJedi adayago

Theyarecalledphotovoltaiccells,andgenerateelectricity
fromlightimpact,alsotherearemagnifyingones.

Share

BartyLobethal>PsychoJedi adayago

Bullshit.

Share

PsychoJedi>BartyLobethal adayago
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PsychoJedi>BartyLobethal adayago

Googleit,you'llgetover2millionresults.

Share

GuilhermeAntonini>PsychoJedi adayago

Didyouactuallyopentheresults?SBSPIsjustaconcept
yet,duetocost.
http://www.spaceenergy.com/SBS...

Share

JustinAnderson>BartyLobethal adayago

Sadlyitstrue,whencaliforniaopeneduptheirgiantsolar
farm150birdsdiedfrombeingscorchedalive

Share

DanielSchealler>Rye adayago

SolarPowerneedsbatteries.Batteriesarenottheenvironment's
friend,regardlessofwhatElonMuskhastosayonthematter.
Whatweneedisanearzerofootprint,fullyrecyclablebattery,with
environmentallyresponsibledisposalbuiltintothepurchaseprice,
thatcanstoreenoughchargeviaSolarPowertopowerahome.
1

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