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posted by CoolHand on Thursday November 19 2015, @06:26PM   Printer-friendly
from the what-will-don-quixote-make-of-these dept.

It's no longer surprising to encounter 100-foot pinwheels spinning in the breeze as you drive down the highway. But don't get too comfortable with that view. A Spanish company called Vortex Bladeless is proposing a radical new way to generate wind energy that will once again upend what you see outside your car window.

Their idea is the Vortex, a bladeless wind turbine that looks like a giant rolled joint shooting into the sky. The Vortex has the same goals as conventional wind turbines: To turn breezes into kinetic energy that can be used as electricity. But it goes about it in an entirely different way.

Instead of capturing energy via the circular motion of a propeller, the Vortex takes advantage of what's known as vorticity, an aerodynamic effect that produces a pattern of spinning vortices. Vorticity has long been considered the enemy of architects and engineers, who actively try to design their way around these whirlpools of wind. And for good reason: With enough wind, vorticity can lead to an oscillating motion in structures, which, in some cases, like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, can cause their eventual collapse.

Less efficient than traditional wind turbines, but quiet and don't kill birds.


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  • (Score: 1) by Ugmo on Thursday November 19 2015, @07:29PM

    by Ugmo (5721) on Thursday November 19 2015, @07:29PM (#265463)

    The article does not say quieter.
    The summary says:

    Less efficient than traditional wind turbines, but quiet and don't kill birds.

    But this is a tall, lightweight, vibrating cone. I would think this is going to be a humming, thrumming noise machine.

  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday November 19 2015, @08:47PM

    by Immerman (3985) on Thursday November 19 2015, @08:47PM (#265493)

    Perhaps, but a windmill isn't exactly quiet either.

    • (Score: 2) by CoolHand on Thursday November 19 2015, @10:43PM

      by CoolHand (438) on Thursday November 19 2015, @10:43PM (#265541) Journal
      It's not? I've rode my bicycle right past a couple and didn't notice any noise at all.
      --
      Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday November 20 2015, @02:56AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 20 2015, @02:56AM (#265627) Journal
        Ride you bicycle on a strong wind and you'll hear it.
        (bonus points if you ride the bike uphill with strong front wind: there'll be a constant thumping in your ears)
        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford