Everything about Windmill totally explained
A
windmill is a machine that's powered by the energy of the wind. It is designed to convert the
energy of the
wind into more useful forms using rotating blades or sails. The term also refers to the structure it's commonly built on. In much of Europe, windmills served originally to grind
grain, though later applications included pumping
water and, more recently,
generation of electricity. Recent electricity generating versions are referred to as wind turbines.
History
A windmill operating an
organ is described as early as the 1st century AD by
Hero of Alexandria, marking probably the first instance of a wind powering machine in history. Vertical axle windmills were first used in eastern
Persia (
Sistan) by the 9th century AD as described by
Muslim geographers. Horizontal axle windmills of the type generally used today were invented in Northwestern
Europe in the 1180s.
Vertical axle windmills
The first windmills had long vertical shafts with rectangle shaped blades and appeared in
Persia in the 9th century. Made of six to twelve
sails covered in reed matting or cloth material, these windmills were used to grind corn or draw up water, and quite different from the European versions. A similar type of vertical shaft windmill with rectangle blades, used for irrigation, can also be found in 13th century
China (during the
Jurchen Jin Dynasty in the north), introduced by the travels of Yelü Chucai to
Turkestan in 1219.
Windpumps
A
windpump is a type of windmill used for pumping water from a
well or draining land.
Windpumps are used extensively in
Southern Africa and
Australia and on farms and ranches in the central plains of the United States. In
South Africa and
Namibia thousands of windpumps are still operating. These are mostly used to provide water for human use as well as drinking water for large sheep stocks.
Kenya has also benefited from the Africa development of windpump technologies. At the end of the 70s, the
UK NGO Intermediate Technology Development Group provided engineering support to the Kenyan company Bobs Harries Engineering Ltd for the development of the Kijito windpumps. Nowadays Bobs Harries Engineering Ltd is still manufacturing the Kijito windpumps and more than 300 Kijito windpumps are operating in the whole of
East Africa.
The Netherlands is well known for its windmills. Most of these iconic structures situated along the edge of
polders are actually windpumps, designed to drain the land. These are particularly important as much of the country lies below
sea level.
Many windpumps were built in
The Broads, of
East Anglia in the
United Kingdom for the draining of land. They have since been mostly replaced by electric power, many of these windpumps still remain, mainly in a derelict state (pictured), however some have been restored.
On
US farms, particularly in the Midwest, windpumps of the type pictured were used to pump
water from farm wells for
cattle. Today this is done primarily by
electric pumps, and only a few windpumps survive as unused relics of an
environmentally sustainable technology.
Tjasker
A
tjasker is a type of drainage windmill found in the
Netherlands. It is a simple design used for raising water where only a low head is required.
Description
A tjasker comprises of four Common sails mounted on a windshaft. The windshaft sits on a tripod which allows it to pivot, and carries an Archimedes screw at its lower end. The screw raises water into a collecting ring, where it's drawn off into a ditch at a higher level, thus draining the land. The tjasker can only raise water to a relatively low height.
Windmills in culture and literature
Books
Miguel de Cervantes's book Don Quixote de La Mancha, which helped cement the modern Spanish language and is regarded as one of the greatest works of fiction ever published, features an iconic scene in which Don Quixote attacks windmills that he believes to be ferocious giants. This gave international fame to La Mancha and its windmills, and is the origin of the phrase "tilting at windmills", to describe an act of futility.
The Windmill also plays an important role in Animal Farm, a book by George Orwell. In the book, an allegory of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent early Soviet Union, the effort invested construction of a windmill is provided by the animals in the hope of reduced manual labour and increased living standards.
People
George Green, a famous UK self-taught mathematician and physicist, owned and operated a windmill. Green's Windmill has been restored as cultural heritage.Sir Bernard Montgomery lived in a converted windmill after he retired.
Music
Windmills feature prominently in the Gorillaz track Feel Good Inc.. The track's lyrics themselves contain the line "windmill windmill for the land." The tracks attendant music video contains a windmill situated on an airborne island on which one of the band's members (Noodle) sits playing a guitar. The same island also appears bearing both Noodle and the aforementioned windmill in the music video of the Gorillaz track El Mañana in which the island, Noodle and windmill come under heavy assault from two attack helicopters. The island including all its inhabitants and structures subsequently crash.
Films » 1937 - Oh, Mr Porter! was partly filmed at Terling windmill in Essex.
1968 - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang features Cobstone Windmill in Buckinghamshire. » 1974 - The Black Windmill was partly filmed at Clayton Windmills in Sussex.
2001 - Moulin Rouge! is set in the famous Paris caberet nightclub of the same name famous for its iconic red windmill mounted on the roof.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Windmill'.
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