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BUILDING A WIND POWERED GENERATOR

V. Ryan © 2005 - 2009

 

Making a small wind powered generator is quite an easy task. The parts are shown below and include a propeller (which can be homemade) and a cheap electrical motor (3 to 6v). The motor is held in a piece of wood that has been drilled to its diameter.

A multimeter is set to read volts and connected using crocodile clips to the positive and negative probes.

Spinning the propeller by hand is normally enough to produce 0.3 to 0.6 volts. This can clearly be seen on the multimeter.

If the homemade wind generator is taken outside the propeller will soon start spinning at high speed, even if there is only a slight breeze.
 

 

   

Try connecting the wind generator to a bulb holder. If enough electricity is created the bulb should light. This is best seen at night.

Alternatively, connect it to an LED as this may require less electricity to shine brightly.

It will soon be noticed that a generator with relatively large propellers is required to produce a small amount of electricity. This suggests that in order to replace conventional, coal or gas powered power stations, hundreds, if not thousands of wind generators are required.

 

QUESTIONS:
1. Build the wind powered generator as shown above and test it. How many volts are produced?
2. In order to light a 3 volt LED, how many generators will need to be connected together - to produce enough electrical current ?
   
 
   

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