- Windbelt
The Windbelt is a device for converting
wind power to electricity. A windbelt is essentially anaeolian harp except that it exploits the motion of the string produced by the the aeroelastic flutter effect to move a magnet closer and farther from one or more electromagnetic coil(s) and thus inducing current in the wires that make up the coil.A famous example of aeroelasticity is the fall of
Galloping Gertie , the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The film of the collapse is commonly shown to engineering, architecture, and physics students as a cautionary tale.Prototypes of the device are claimed to be ten-to-thirty times more efficient [ [http://www.jetsongreen.com/2007/10/windbelt-microw.html Windbelt Micro-wind, 10 Times Cheaper Wind Energy!! ] ] than wind microturbines. One prototype has successfully powered two LEDs, a radio, and a clock using wind generated from a household fan. The cost of the materials was well under US$10, giving a cost of 10s of dollars per watt.
The Windbelt's inventor, Shawn Frayne, was a winner of the 2007 Breakthrough Award from the publishers of the magazine, "
Popular Mechanics ". [ [http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4224763.html Windbelt - Third World Power - Wind Generator - Video - Breakthrough Awards - Popular Mechanics ] ]Footnotes
References
* [http://www.instructables.com/id/Windbelt-Redux--21st-Century-Micro-Power-Generatio/?ALLSTEPS Instructions for building a proof-of-concept windbelt-powered lamp with parts recovered from a old hard drive]
* [http://www.reuk.co.uk/Windbelt-Cheap-Micro-Wind-Generator.htm Windbelt Cheap Micro Wind Generator] REUK.co.uk 17th Oct. 2007
External links
* [http://www.humdingerwind.com/windbelt.html Humdinger Wind, company founded by the inventor, and holder of the patents.]
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