1. Wind Turbine project By Jordan Schultz and Kevin Johnson

2. Design • Our design emphasizes the concept of simplicity. • We tried to make it simple and cost effective to duplicate by using as few extra parts as possible. • We used a small light fan in order to get a lot of rotations with very little wind power. • We also used a 16 gauge wire coiled around a magnet.

3. Mechanical / Electrical Aspects • The concept behind a wind turbine is to use wind to rotate the blades (mechanical energy) in order to generate some form of electricity. • Most of the small wind turbines for this project use magnetic fields within coils to generate voltage and current, but there are many more complex ways of generating electricity.

4. Issues in Construction • A room mate accidentally knocked our project off a counter top and broke it. • We had a few issues with the insulation of the wire. • Our original fan blade scheme did not harness enough wind power to rotate the magnet quickly enough.

5. Efficiency Estimates • Wind Power = ½ρAv³ • Electrical Power = V² / R • Wind Power = Electrical Power • Conservation of Energy • Efficiency = (real electric output – theoretical electric out put)/ real electric output • A = area of rotor blades = 11 in² = 71 cm² • v = wind velocity = 6.7 m/sec • V = Voltage • R = Resistance • ρ= Density (of air) = 1.2 kg /m²

6. Conclusions • Converting wind energy into feasible electrical energy is very difficult, particularly in generating current. • “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry” – Robert Burns