Windmill Blog Post

PVC pipe

1.) To know how a windmill design works, someone would need to know how Electromagnetic induction works. This is to say that when a magnetic field is changed near a wire then a current is induced in the wire, note that the magnetic field must be CHANGING. The coils of wire carry a current to whatever you may be powering, or to a generator. The magnets create a magnetic field that is moved near the wire to induce a current.

2.) to reproduce our design, one would need:
Plastic spoons
PVC Pipes
Coils of wire (copper preferably)
Magnets
Wooden Dowels
PVC Caps
Wooden Circles




Attach a pvc pipe to a pvc connector, drill hole in pvc cap. Connect pvc to more pvc and then to a base. Drill hole in center of wooden cirlce and insert wooden dowel. Glue plastic spoons in perpendicular directions every 90 degrees. Attach coils of wire to inside of pvc cap with ends of wire protruding from pvc pipe. Glue magnets in alternating North South pole arrangement on wooden dowel. inert wooden dowel into the pvc cap, and then it's ready to go! make sure the magnets are near the coils of wire so that maximum current can be achieved. When the fan blows on the spoons, the dowel will rotate as will the magnets which will change a magnetic field from North to South over the coil of wire which will induce a current.

3.) The factors that affect the induced current are the speed at which the magnetic fields are changed, the amount of wire that is present, and the proximity to the wire the magnets are. The 4 wire coil design worked very very well to produce lots of current. The closer to the wire that the magnets are, the more current that will be induced.
Video of our Windmill: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?
u=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FweLWy9qH7e4&h=tAQH0i_Lk