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Spring sails were invented by Scottish millwright Andrew Meikle in 1772. The sail is divided into a number of bays, each having a number of shutters. All the shutters are joined together by a shutter bar, and the force required for the wind to open the shutters is adjusted by a separate spring on each sail. Although automatic in operation, the ...
A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or ...
The purpose of sails is to use wind energy to propel the vessel, sled, board, vehicle or rotor. Depending on the angle of your sail it will be the difference in direction of where your boat is heading and where the wind is going. [31] Dacron was used a lot as a material for sails because of its strong, durable, and easy to maintain.
The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, by tradition specifically to mill grain (), but in some parts of the English-speaking world, the term has also been extended to encompass windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications.
Sailing ship – a ship with a hull, rigging, and at least one mast to hold up the sails that use the wind to power the ship. The crew who sail a ship are called sailors or hands. Rotor ship – ship designed to use the Magnus effect for propulsion. To take advantage of this effect, it uses turbosails which are powered by an engine.
The tower mill was an important source of power for Europe for nearly 600 years from 1300 to 1900, contributing to 25 percent of the industrial power of all wind machines before the advent of the steam engine and coal power.
The apparent wind on the sail creates a total aerodynamic force, which may be resolved into drag—the force component in the direction of the apparent wind—and lift—the force component normal (90°) to the apparent wind. Depending on the alignment of the sail with the apparent wind, lift or drag may be the predominant propulsive component.
Offshore wind power currently has a share of about 10% of new installations. [8] Wind power is one of the lowest-cost electricity sources per unit of energy produced. In many locations, new onshore wind farms are cheaper than new coal or gas plants. [9] Regions in the higher northern and southern latitudes have the highest potential for wind ...