I know that the wind is what gets them moving.
But are there weights in the tips of the ‘windmill’ blades that keep them spinning?
Knowledgeable persons only, no rude responses or I’ll report you.
Originally posted 2008-11-13 00:22:19.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
No. If there were, it would take more wind to get them to spin. In the long run, it would make no difference.
Nope… adding weight to the blade would not increae efficiency.
Well you spelled centripdal I think is spelled centrifecal if I am not mistaken, but your question is no.
There are no weights in the windmills. It would require energy from the wind to spin up the blades with weights, energy that would be wasted do to aerodynamic drag when the windmill was acting like a flywheel so a windmill with weights would be less efficient than one without them
No, I hope this doesn’t sound too simplistic, but the blades KEEP spinning, because the wind KEEPS blowing! If the wind stops, the windmill stops turning! This is why many windmills use a power storage system, such as pumping water into an elevated tank while the wind is strong, so that the flow of water will do the work of generating electricity when the wind dies down.
Hmm…. The weight of the tip is for balancing, inertia and specially design to give the best efficiency on the windmill, when wind blow directly to the windmill flaps. In a way that you are right, the tips of the windmill blades keep them spinning. But without the existence of continuous Wind (or source of energy / force) in the first place, the blade won’t move.
Newton’s law, thing won’t move unless if acted by external force. Thing won’t stop if no opposite force acted upon.
Works on centipedal force… using thousands of centipedes…
wind mills have no weights in their wing tips in fact keeping the weight down is an advantage, strength and durability vs. economy and preformance, there are different types of systems to keep wind mills running, the most common today is pitch and stall regulation, this adjusts the angle of the blade to suit the wind conditions creating optimal drive (torque) for the generation of electricity.
With a question like this, I always suggest that you take out a dictionary and look up the term. In doing so you have answered your own question and given your brain a little exercise.
it’s called Centrifugal Force, and no.
Centrifugal force is actually a detriment to a windmills efficiency. It forces engineers to make the pivots and blades heavier and more durable than actually needed for the intended purpose of the windmill. This is necessary to provide the strength to withstand the centrifugal forces on the spinning blades.
The blades work on the same principal as an airplane wing, except instead of the low pressure on top of the airplane’s wing providing an upward force or lift, the low pressure areas on the windmill blades provide a sideways force which causes the blade to rotate.
Any weights on the blades are for balance to minimize vibration and to ensure a long and dependable service life.
The wind, as you stated in your question, is surely what keeps them spinning, the weights add a certain amount of inertia between wind gusts, but that is not their primary purpose. The more weight, the more wind energy it takes to get them spinning up and performing their function inside the mill.