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BBC:
[...] The O-Wind turbine is a 25cm spherical device which sits on a fixed axis. The geometric structure of its vents means that it spins when wind hits it from any direction.
This wind energy turns the device which triggers a generator, which, in turn, converts the wind energy into electricity.
The next stage of its development will focus on finding ways to build it so it will be cheap enough for anyone to buy.
[...] "Using low-cost and sustainable materials like recycled plastic we hope to produce the O-Wind Turbine at a low cost, allowing it to be sold at a price accessible to everyone."
ROI has been a killer for urban wind solutions.
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Urban Wind Turbine Wins UK James Dyson Award
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You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here.
(Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Thursday September 06 2018, @10:29AM (2 children)
https://metro.co.uk/video/new--turbine-works-direction-wins-james-dyson-award-1756488/ [metro.co.uk]
The cables (rope?) That attach this thing to whatever they use as a generator will either be rigid or flexible. (Duh)
If rigid, they will add alot of weight.
If flexible, they will twist, and wear at the point they join the generator (where two cables become on shaft) will be considerable.
Would make a nice addition to a large box kite, though.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 06 2018, @08:37PM (1 child)
> Would make a nice addition to a large box kite, though.
Somewhere I read that there is a significant voltage potential between up in the air and ground -- so a kite with a wire for a string can "generate" some small amount of electricity (clearly the current available, and thus the power, will be small).
Q for anyone: How big does the kite-windmill have to be to make more power than what is available from just the "antenna" flown up in the air by a simple kite?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Thursday September 06 2018, @09:25PM
I just thought the design would look pretty, spinning inside the frame..
Without doing any physics (well, applied mathematics)..
The fundamental limit would be the "capture" device, while potential/kinetic /potential conversion has losses, the conversion on a kite requires the generator to be *on* the kite. Even a simple small generator is going to be heavy, compared to the size of the spinning part.. So losses would be considerable, and upper bound on generator will be quite low.
Then you still have to run cables to the ground. Otherwise. Spin the whole kite and put the generator on the ground, but cable twist would be ... Interesting.
Some Italians think it can work.. http://www.kitegen.com/en/ [kitegen.com]
Or, build your own https://www.instructables.com/id/Electricity-Generating-Kite/ [instructables.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex