Windmill
Windmills are machines that are powered by wind energy. It converts the wind energy into useful forms via sails or rotating blades. In most parts of Europe, windmills are for grinding grain. Later on, it is used for pumping water and for the generation of electricity. The current electricity generating versions are known as “wind turbines".
Windmills of the Present Time
Apart from wind turbines, they are also called wind generators. Their sole purpose is to generate electricity. In fact, the largest wind generators can generate up to about 6MW of power. As for modern fossil fuel power plants, they can only generate 500 to 1,300MW.
Due to the increasing environmental concern along with the approaching limits of fossil fuel consumptions, the focus now is more on wind power as a source of renewable energy. It is proving to be very sufficient and useful for most parts of the globe. A good example is along the Midwestern part of the United States. They make use of wind turbines to convert their great winds to electricity.
Windmill History
The invention of the windmill can be traced to Abu Rola Holland, a Dutchman from the early 13th century. He is named as the King of Windmills. Since his country has a terrain that is lower than sea level and they are positioned in a lower district, the water would accumulate in most of its areas. With this inconvenience, they wanted convenient means to pump out the water to the sea. This is when he invented the windmill. Aside from being environmentally friendly, it can really save a large amount of energy. Due to windmills, people in Holland are now able to irrigate their fields and generate electric power.
There are also claims that the windmill was invented long before the time mentioned above. It is said that it was derived from the sail of a ship. In Babylon and China about 2,000 years ago, they used windmills to irrigate their farms and crush ice. In Syria, during the 7th Century, they had their 1st batch of windmills. There were notes that it was the soldiers who fought along the Palestinian district who got the information about windmills and took them back to their hometown when they returned. After the 12th Century, windmills were very rampant in Europe.
As for Western windmills, they appear different because of their wing. It would surround the vertical section before it moved around. It also features another type of equipment for turning the wing around to face the direction of the wind. This is because in West Asia, the wind frequently changes in direction.
In Holland, windmills play a huge part in their history and culture. They are also noted for their beauty.
After the development of motor turbines and steam engine motors, windmills started to face out. Now that many people prefer to use power from a cleaner and safer method, windmills are coming back to the scene. In fact, there are nearly 2,000 types of windmills in Holland alone. They are even decorated during their festivals.