Wind Energy - General Information
History
Man has exploited the wind energy very early in his history. The first
use of the wind energy was as a motive force for the ships. The Chinese,
Persians, Greeks and Egyptians have largely used the windmills, for many
centuries BC, mostly for the cereals grinding. Specifically Persians
used vertical axes wind mills. In addition windmill were used
for water pumping. This application was mainly taking place in Holland where by
the use of the windmills, large amount of water was drained from the
flooded areas and conducted to the sea. In Greece water pumping wind
mills (almost 6000) were used mainly in Eastern Crete. During the
17th century the discovery of the steam engines started to replace
the wind mills, however in America in 1860, the multiblade wind mills
for pump were constructed at Chicago, the industrial centre
of their production. In 1900, the Danish produced electricity by the
wind. In 1940, in Vermond (USA), a testing wind motor with two blades was constructed. But the wind energy was not considered to be important until
70' decade when human realized the energy and environmental problem
of our planet and tried to re design the wind turbine.
|
Wind Measuring
One ancient Observatory to "Wind Tower" in Athens was built during the
1st century BC. It is a relatively small building with 8 sides which was placed
in the Central Market, in the interior of which a hydraulic clock was in function. In
the top of his conical roof, existed one brassy Tritonas that wasturned
according to the wind direction and showed with brassy spillikinone
from the eight winds, that are portrayed in the upper department of
each one of the eight sides of building. On its 8 sides, it brings
emboss figures of the eight winds that Aristotelis had noticed three
centuries earlier.
|
 |
 |
| West Wind (Ζephiros) |
 |
| South Wind (Νotias) |
|
Old wind mills in Chios Island (Greece)
A damaged windmill and a modern wind generator. The continuity of Man's history and his efforts to exploit the wind energy.
|
|
23°C 
Wind Energy 
