Eco
Bite
Wind
Wind power is a clean, renewable source of energy that
produces no carbon dioxide emissions or waste products.
Wind farms generate electricity using energy harnessed from
the wind. Find out here how a popular children’s toy has
developed a new way to collect renewable energy!
Wind power is Scotland’s fastest growing renewable energy
technology. There are numerous large wind farms in operation,
and the world’s largest wind turbine generator is currently being
tested in the North Sea. Most turbines provide 25% of their
maximum power, however Scotland’s turbines provide an average
of 40%.
Did you know...
Scotland produces 25% of the
total European wind energy
resource? Burradale wind
farm in Shetland holds the
world record for producing
the highest electrical output of
58% over a year.
The Case of Wind Turbines
Wind is one of Scotland’s most plentiful natural resources, and could be
Scotland’s main energy source in the future. However, there are some
arguments against the construction of wind farms. These are things that
need to be improved in order to win support from people that object to them.
Arguments For Wind Farms:
•
Renewable energy source.
•
No pollution, zero carbon emissions.
•
Creates jobs in rural areas
Arguments Against Wind Farms:
•
Turbines can be ugly against the landscape.
•
Expensive to build and install.
•
Rare bird species and migration affected.
Did you know... half of Scotland’s energy needs could be provided by offshore wind energy?
Save Energy: Fly a Kite!
The kite experiment generated enough electricity to power 10
family homes, and there are plans to test larger kites that will
harness much more energy!
These kites fly at 1km above ground level, where the wind carries
hundreds of times more energy than at ground level. With no
carbon emissions and less of a visual impact than turbines, kites
could be a cheaper way to gather wind energy than wind farms.
why don’t you...
Did you know...
Scientists recently harnessed
wind energy by flying a huge
10m 2 kite tethered to a
generator, producing 10kw of
power!
e EcoBite!
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Copyright © 2008 Glasgow Science Centre
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About the experiment:
In this bite-sized eco experiment, you will capture
energy from the wind using your very own pinwheel
wind turbine.
Wind
Turbine!
What do I need?
1
•
Pinwheel template (p4)
•
White card or stiff paper
•
Glue stick
•
Paper-punch
•
Plastic drinking straw
•
Scissors
•
Paper fastener
•
Sharp pencil
•
Colouring pens, pencils or crayons
Cut around the solid lines of the pinwheel pattern.
Using a glue stick, paste the pattern onto the white
card and then cut around the solid lines of the
pinwheel pattern again. If you have time, you may
wish to decorate both sides of the pinwheel.
2
3
From each of the four corners, carefully cut
along the dotted lines towards the centre of the
square. Try not to cut into the circle at the centre
of the pinwheel.
Carefully use the paper-punch to punch holes at
the corners, where you see the black dots. Using
the sharp pencil point, first pierce a hole in the dark
dot in the centre of the template, and then pierce a
hole in the straw about 1cm from the top.
2
4
5
To create the blades of your pinwheel, twist the
four corners with punched holes to line up with
the middle hole, and push the fastener through
them. Insert the ends of the fastener through
the hole in your straw, and secure in place by
separating the fastener legs. Try not to secure
it too tightly, as the wheel needs to be able to
move. You can strengthen your straw by placing
a skewer inside.
Now you are ready to try out your pinwheel wind
turbine! Find some wind and experiment with wind
energy.
How does it work?
The blades of the pinwheel capture wind energy which pushes the blades around.
It works the same way a wind turbine does, except on a much smaller scale!
With wind turbines, generators transform the movement energy into electrical
energy that can then be used in our homes.
Fun things to try!
• If you hold the front of the pinwheel facing the wind, what happens?
• When the pinwheel is sideways into the wind, what happens then?
• Try making a larger pinwheel with a larger square of paper. What happens when
you change the size of your pinwheel blades?
• What if you use heavier/lighter paper? Does one pinwheel move faster than the
other?
• What difference would changing the size of the blades make in life-size turbines?
•
Would the weight of the blades make a difference to how much energy a turbine
could harness?
Copyright © 2008 Glasgow Science Centre
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