Power from Wind A History of Windmill Technology [Paperback]

This is the first general treatment of windpower in English, covering the unpredictable nature of wind and focusing on the technical evolution and industrial application of windpower.Since the inception of windpower around 1000 AD, technology has been deployed to obtain the most economical power from wind. This text traces its technical evolution, concentrating on the growth in understanding of wind and charting crucial developments in windmill design.Since the inception of windpower around 1000 AD, technology has been deployed to obtain the most economical power from wind. This text traces its technical evolution, concentrating on the growth in understanding of wind and charting crucial developments in windmill design.Since the inception of windpower around 1000 AD, technology has been deployed to obtain the most economical power from wind. The author traces its technical evolution, concentrating on the growth in understanding of wind and charting crucial developments in windmill design. The history of the windmill focuses on North Western Europe, but Hills indicates the origins of the first horizontal windmills in Persia, Tibet and China. He also examines industrial applications such as in textiles, papermaking and mining. The book concludes with a look at the recent reemergence of windpower as a viable source of power in the wake of the energy crisis.Introduction; 1. The wind; 2. The horizontal windmill; 3. The post mill; 4. Tower and smock mills; 5. Windmill sails; 6. Windmills for land drainage; 7. Windpower in industry; 8. The demise of the traditional windmill; 9. The windmill for pumping water and water supply; 10. Electric power from the wind; Glossary and bibliography. ...an important contribution to the history of technology, for it is the first solid, scholarly monograph devoted to the history of the windmill....it will be...the place from which all subsequent studies of the windmill's history begin. Terry S. Reynolds, Science ...comprehensive and colcž