Bladeless Wind Generator Safe for Birds

Bladeless Wind Generator¹ Safe for Birds

Wind turbines are tall structures with large blades used to produce electricity. They are useful sources of low-cost, renewable energy. But they can also be deadly to birds and bats. The turbines’ large blades turn quickly in the sky. Birds and bats sometimes fly into them and are killed.

But a new type of wind generator may offer an answer to that problem.

In 2002, Spanish inventor David Yanez saw a short film about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the U.S. Strong winds caused the bridge to collapse² in 1940. That incident was an example of the powerful vibrations⁴ wind can create when it blows past a long pole, like a car antenna⁵ or a stick of light wood. It gave Mr. Yanez the idea for a new type of wind-energy generator. He said he wanted it to include all the desired qualities.

He said it should be as low-cost as possible and need as little maintenance as possible. He also said he wanted it to quick to set up.

Mr. Yanez and his friend Raoul Martin took the idea to an engineering business. But they were told their idea would never work. So, Mr. Yanez and Mr. Martin built a small wind tunnel to experiment on their own.

They built a large working model of the generator in a field near their workspace. They called the equipment Vortex.

Mr. Yanez described how the Vortex generator works.?

He said there is a mast that serves like a blade on turbines. It is made from the same material as other generators⁶. Wind causes the mast to oscillate, or move back and forth⁷. It does not spin around. So it creates no risk to birds and bats.

The Vortex generator creates about 30 percent less energy than a wind turbine with blades. But it is lighter⁸ and less costly⁹ to build and maintain. It is made mostly of plastic and has very few moving parts. The generator also does not create noise.

The current prototype works at wind speeds ranging from 1.5 to 7 meters per second.

The inventors say the next step is building a 12.5-meter-tall bladeless generator that could power small businesses or individual homes. They add that the generator could also provide additional power to a larger power supply system.

Mr. Yanez expects the Vortex bladeless generator to be ready for general sale by 2017.

Words in this Story

blade – n. a flat long turning part that is used on some machines to push air or water

generator – n. a machine that produces electricity

vibration³ – n. a continuous slight shaking movement : a series of small, fast movements back and forth or from side to side

maintenance – n. the act of keeping property or equipment in good condition by making repairs, correcting problems, etc.

mast – n. a tall pole that supports or holds something

oscillate – v. to move in one direction and then back again many times

prototype – n. an original or first model of something from which other forms are copied or developed

1 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

4 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

6 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。