Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Wind |
WindNoun1. Air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure; "trees bent under the fierce winds"; "when there is no wind, row". 2. A tendency or force that influences events; "the winds of change". 3. Breath; "the collision knocked the wind out of him". 4. Empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk; that's a lot of wind"; "don't give me any of that jazz". 5. An indication of potential opportunity; "he got a tip on the stock market"; "a good lead for a job". 6. A musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by the breath. 7. A reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus. 8. The act of winding or twisting; "he put the key in the old clock and gave it a good wind". Verb1. To move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body". 2. Extend in curves and turns; "The road winds around the lake". 3. Wrap or coil around; "roll your hair around your finger"; "Twine the thread around the spool". 4. Catch the scent of; get wind of; "The dog nosed out the drugs". 5. Of springs. 6. Form into a wreath. 7. Raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help; "hoist the bicycle onto the roof of the car". 8. Tighten the spring of (a mechanisms); wind up the toy". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "wind" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
19th Century Satire | An aerial phenomenon, superinduced by an ephemeral agitation of the nebular strata, whereby air, (hot or cold), impelled into transitory activity, generates a prolonged passage through space, owing to certain occult ethereal stimuli, and results in zephyr. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904. |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of the wind blowing softly and sadly upon you, signifies that great fortune will come to you through bereavement. If you hear the wind soughing, denotes that you will wander in estrangement from one whose life is empty without you. To walk briskly against a brisk wind, foretells that you will courageously resist temptation and pursue fortune with a determination not easily put aside. For the wind to blow you along against your wishes, portends failure in business undertakings and disappointments in love. If the wind blows you in the direction you wish to go you will find unexpected and helpful allies, or that you have natural advantages over a rival or competitor. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Industry | The process of winding filling on bobbins for introduction into a shuttle. Source: European Union. (references) |
| The machine. . is. . used to wind yarn on a spool. Source: European Union. (references) | |
| The number of wraps on the take-up package while the traverse operates a full stroke in one direction. Source: European Union. (references) | |
| The action to -- the yarn onto the bobbins in an even and uniform manner on the inward run of the mule carriage. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Metallurgy | The air supplied by a blower to a blast furnace. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | To hoist or raise coal or ore; to spool rope or cable on the drum of ahoist. (references) |
Public Administration | Movement of the air horizontally relative to the earth's surface; Numerically its velocity is marked by the Beaufort scale. Source: European Union. (references) |
| In a direction opposite to that in which the hands of a clock rotate. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Science | A natural motion of the air, especially a noticeable current of air moving in the atmosphere parallel to the Earth's surface. Winds are caused by unequal heating and cooling of the Earth and atmosphere due to absorbed, incoming solar radiation and infrared radiation lost to space--as modified by such effects as the Coriolis force, the condensation of water vapor, the formation of clouds, the interaction of air masses and frontal systems, friction over land and water, etc. (references) |
Slang in 1811 | WIND. To raise the wind; to procure mony. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Solar | Horizontal motion of air near the surface of the Earth. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Winds are directional atmospheric movements. On Earth, they are the movement of air, and exist in three basic types:
Due to differences in latitude, the planet's axial tilt, and the reflection and absorption of different materials and gases, some parts of the Earth get more energy than others, and they also have different capacities for holding on to that heat. Hot air expands, and that expansion causes the air to have a lower density. Colder air, with a higher density, will tend to displace warmer air by moving in under it. Since cold air holds less water vapor, there is often rain at the boundaries, or weather fronts, between air masses at different temperatures.
- winds due to large pressure systems, which are in turn caused by sunlight heating the ground, and are affected by the rotation of the Earth. (Without solar heating, the air would rotate against the Earth's rotation, due to the drag of the solar wind.)
- cold air falling down a mountain, creating a katabatic wind or Fohn wind.
- sea and land breezes, caused by the gain or loss of solar heat at different rates by land and sea.
Over large bodies of water near the equator, monsoons and typhoons form, driven by the heat of the underlying water.
Patterns in winds around the world have long been known, both as semi-permanent phenomena, such as the jet streams, which are primarily rotational effects, and periodical occurrences, such as the shifting of the trade winds in the tropics and such seasonal winds as the scirocco.
Wind direction is according to where it comes from: north wind blows towards the south.
Wind is imperative to sailing. Windmills also use the energy of wind, either directly (as to grind grain) or to generate electricity.
Wind tends to hug the ground and travel in layers so when it hits a hill the layers bunch up resulting in high wind speeds at the top of the hill. Low pressure areas are created on the windward side of the hill and the opposite side of the hill. Eddies form in these areas with the wind eddy called the bolster eddy and the other eddy is called the lee eddy.
In the narrows of a canyon the layers of wind converge at the narrowest point of the canyon creating bolster eddies on either side of the start of the narrows and lee eddies on the opposite side.
In craters the layers of wind converge at the rim of the crater creating strong winds. Winds at the bottom of the crater are light but chaotic and disappear half way to the rim. Eddies form in middle.
See also: Beaufort scale, meteorology, windstorm, horse latitude, doldrums.
Greek Latin north wind Boreas Aquilo south wind Notos Auster east wind Euros Eurus west wind Zephyros Favonius north-west wind Skiron or Skeiron Caurus or Corus north-east wind Kaikias Caecius south-east wind Euros or Apeliotus Volturnus or Vulturnus south-west wind Lips or Livos Africus or Afer ventus north-north-west wind Thrascius west-south-west wind Libs
Modern wind names
Many local wind systems have their own names. For example:A List of Named Winds [1]
- scirocco (southerly from North Africa to southern Europe)
- mistral (northwesterly from central France to Mediterranean)
- levanter (easterly through Strait of Gibraltar)
- vendavel (westerly through Strait of Gibraltar)
- marin (south-easterly from Mediterranean to France)
- bora (northeasterly from eastern Europe to Italy)
- gregale (northeasterly from Greece)
- etesian (northwesterly from Greece)
- libeccio (southwesterly towards Italy)
- chinook {easterly off the Rocky Mountains
- Santa Ana
External link
- The Winds of Mars:Aeolian Activity and Landforms, paper with slides that illustrate the wind activity on the planet Mars
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Wind."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A wind instrument consists of a tube containing a column of air which is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set into the end of the tube. The pitch is determined by the length of the tube and hence the length of the vibrating column of air.
A range of notes is obtained by:
Wind instruments fall into one of the following categories:
- adjusting the effective length of the tube by one of
- opening holes in the side of the tube, or
- valves adding extra lengths of tubing in the middle, or
- lengthening the tube by a sliding mechanism
- getting the column of air to vibrate at different harmonics (see harmonic series).
Although brass instruments were originally made of brass and woodwind instruments have traditionally been made of wood, the material used to make the body of the instrument is not a reliable guide to its family. For example, the saxophone is made of brass but is a woodwind instrument, while the cornett and serpent, although made of wood, are in the family of brass instruments.
- Brass instruments
- Woodwind instruments
A more accurate way to determine whether an instrument is brass or woodwind is to examine how the player produces sound. In brass instruments, the player's lips vibrate, and that causes the air enclosed within the instrument to vibrate. In woodwind instruments, however, the player either causes a reed to vibrate which then agitates the column of air (as in a clarinet or oboe), blows against an edge (as in a recorder), or blows across an open hole (as in a flute).
In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, wind instruments are classed as aerophones.
See also: Alpenhorn
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Wind instrument."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A wind turbine, windmill or wind generator is a device for converting wind power to mechanical rotation with a low velocity turbine designed for compressible fluids (air). It is a device for producing renewable energy in the form of electric power and is a component of one of the newest form of power plant to be put into operation.
For a machine that generates wind, see wind machine.
Small machines are pointed into the wind by a vane. Large machines have a wind-sensor driving a servomotor.
When it turns to face the wind, the turbine acts like a gyroscope. When the turbine pivots to face the wind, precession tries to twist the turbine into a forward or backward somersault. For each blade on a wind generator's turbine, precessive force is at a minimum when the blade is horizontal and at a maximum when the blade is vertical. This cyclic twisting can quickly fatigue and crack the blade roots, hub and axle of the turbine.
To reduce the precessive stresses, modern turbines have three blades, only one of which is in a maximum stress position (vertical) at a time. The major historic design defect is to have an even number of blades, so that two blades are vertical at the same time. Two-bladed turbines have the highest cyclic stresses.
When there are four or more blades, the blades of a high-speed, high efficiency turbine start stalling in the disturbed air from the previous blade.
There are a number of vibrations that decrease in peak intensity as the number of blades increases. Some of the vibrations, besides wearing out the machine, are also audible. However, fewer, larger blades operate at a higher Reynolds number and are therefore more efficient. Also, the cost of the turbine increases with the number of blades, so the optimum number of blades turns out to be three.
Since a tower produces turbulence behind it, the turbine is usually placed in front. The turbine has to be placed a considerable distance in front and sometimes tilted up a small amount to ensure that the lower blade doesn't impact the tower. Downwind machines are occasionally built despite the problem of turbulence because they don't need an additional pointing device and in high winds, the blades can be allowed to bend which reduces their wind resistance.
Sails were originally used on early windmills. Unfortunately they have a short service life. Also, they have a relatively high drag for the force they capture. They turn the generator slowly, waste much of the available wind power and have a large wind resistance for their power output, requiring a strong wind tower. For these reasons they were superseded with solid airfoils.
When a turbine is spun by the wind, it adds a rotation to the wind, increasing the apparent wind on the blade. Since blades are really designed to work like an airplane wing, this increases the torque produced by the turbine. But this also increases the force in the wind direction on the blade and therefore on the tower. The mechanical stress is significantly higher when the turbine rotates. That's why wind turbines are stopped during high wind.
Counter rotating turbines can be used to increase the rotation speed of the electrical generator. When the counter rotating turbines are on the same side of the tower, the one in front is angled inwards slightly so as to never hit the rear one. They are either both geared to the same generator or, more often, one is connected to the rotor and the other to the field windings. Counter rotating turbines geared to the same generator have additional gearing losses. Counter rotating turbines connected to the rotor and stator are mechanically simpler; but, the field windings need slip rings which adds complexity, wastes some electricity and wastes some mechanical power.
Counter rotating turbines can be on opposite sides of the tower. In this case it is best that the one in back be smaller than the one in front and set to stall at a higher wind speed. This way, at low wind speeds, both turn and the generator taps the maximum proportion of the wind's power. At intermediate speeds, the front turbine stalls; but, the rear one keeps turning, so the wind generator has a smaller wind resistance and the tower can still support the generator. At high wind speeds both turbines stall, the wind resistance is at a minimum and the tower can still support the generator. This allows the generator to function at a wider wind speed range than a single-turbine generator for a given tower.
Putting a turbine in back helps pulls its side downwind. Since the rear turbine will be at a considerable distance behind the front, it provides considerable leverage for a fin placed there, which means no servo is necessary to point the machine into the wind.
To reduce sympathetic vibrations, the two turbines should have an irrational relative rate, (e.g. the square root of two). Overall, this is more complicated than the single-turbine wind generator, but taps more of the wind at a wider range of wind speeds.
Techniques
Wind has been used to grind grain, pump water, heat water (with a churn), and produce electricity. In modern times, almost all turbines either pump water or generate electricity.
A wind generator usually consists of an aerodynamic mechanism for converting the movement of air into a mechanical motion which is then converted with a generator into electrical power. Some designs try to convert wind power into electrostatic power by spraying water, which is charged by facing a toroidal charged electrode, with the wind which is then blown upon a mesh.
Wind turbines have been used for household electricity generation in conjunction with battery storage over many decades in remote areas. Generator units of more than 1 MWe are now functioning in several countries. The power output is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so such turbines require a wind in the range 3 to 25 metres/second (11 - 90 km/hr), and in practice relatively few areas have significant prevailing winds. Like solar, wind power requires alternative power sources to cope with calmer periods.
The most economical and practical size of commercial wind turbines seems to be around 600 kWe to 1 MWe, grouped into large wind farms. Most turbines operate at about 25% load factor over the course of a year, but some reach 35%.
Wind is variable, so to provide constant power, wind generators need storage batteries or need to be supplemented by an auxiliary means of electricity generation. In remote areas this source of power is usually photovoltaic or diesel. With a grid connection, the auxiliary power is often from gas turbines or hydropower. Birds can be killed by running into the blades or by being electrocuted by the power lines. At a high extra cost, power lines can be buried to eliminate the danger from electrocution. To reduce bird deaths, wind farms should be out of bird migration routes.
Mechanical wind generators were based on windmills and were popular in the 1900s to the 1940s, before rural electrification programs brought grid connected electricity to the countryside. They started their revival in the 1970s as the price of oil increased. Wind generator cost per unit power has been decreasing by about four percent per year. In the year 2001, they're one of the least expensive forms of energy, costing between two and six cents per kilowatt hour, similar to coal and methane fired plants.
Though wind speed varies, the frequency and voltage output of the generator must remain constant. The two most common ways of doing this are to use an induction generator which turns slightly faster than the utility frequency, usually about five percent faster. It can handle small variations in speed and still provide power at the correct frequency. A more sophisticated way is to use high power electronics to transform current from a generator to utility frequency, this is currently more expensive has a rougher waveform; but, can handle a wider variation in the generator rotation rate. Induction generators work best at one speed while electronic generators can work at a wide speed range; so, to get the advantages of both they could be combined, a low power electronic generator working at all speeds and a high power induction generator cutting in at a medium wind speed. This would overall be able to tap the same wind range as a pure electronic generator; but, have a cost somewhat between an electronic generator and a pure induction generator.
The wind-turbine is the most common type. The main disadvantage is the fact that the entire mechanism has to be able to turn on a tower.
The ducted rotor consists of a propeller and generator inside a duct which flares outwards at the back. The air is accelerated inside the duct and the propeller spins quickly. The main advantage of the ducted rotor is that it can operate in a wide range of winds. Another advantage is that the generator operates at a high rotation rate so it can be smaller. A disadvantage is that it is more complicated than the unducted propeller and the duct is heavy, which puts a greater load on the tower.
The simplest type of wind generator is the savonius rotor. It consists of two vertical curved airfoils mounted between two disks. Whenever wind blows horizontally through this device, the disk turns driving a generator. The main advantage of this type is the device itself doesn't have to be turned into the wind, so no set of slip rings or yaw mecanism is necessary. Also, the heavy generator is on the ground, the airfoils can be made from a pipe section and there is only one moving part. The disavantages of this type are its low efficiency and the fact that the wind profile can't be reduced in high winds.
Darrieus wind turbines look like a wire supported eggbeater. It consists of thin vertical airfoils which meet at their tips and bend out at the middle. Like the savonius rotor; the main advantage of this type is the device itself doesn't have to be turned into the wind, so no set of slip rings or yaw mecanism is necessary. Also, the heavy generator is on the ground. The disavantages of this type are the difficulty of making the low efficiency, the fact that it needs a starter and the fact that it has huge side loads at the top which usually has to be braced with wires.
Schemes have been bandied about to loft wind generators from kites and / or balloons in order to harness powerful high altitude winds. This has the advantage of being able to tap an almost constant wind and doing so without a set of slip rings or yaw mechanism. The main disadvantage is that kites come down when there is insufficient wind. Balloons can be added to the mix to keep the contraption up without wind; but, balloons leak slowly and have to be at least resupplied with lifting gas, possibly patched as well. Also this scheme requires a very long power cable and an aircraft exclusion zone.
Electrostatic wind generators work by spraying water from a nozzle facing a toroidal charged electrode. This induces an opposite charge in the water and when the water flows out of the nozzle, each drop carries a small amount of charge. These water droplets are them blown by the wind, going through the center of the charged toroid without touching it. The droplets then hit a fine mesh, adding to its charge. The main advantage of this system is that it has no rapidly moving parts. The disadvantages are that it won't work in the rain, it needs a constant supply of water, its wind profile can't be reduced, it requires many small parts, the whole device has to be able to turn and it has to be well crafted to reduce corona discharge losses.
Wind generators range from small four hundred watt generators for residential use to several megawatt machines for wind farms and offshore. The small ones have direct drive generators, direct current output, aeroelastic blades, lifetime bearings and use a fin to point into the wind; while the larger ones generally have geared power trains, alternating current output, flaps and are actively pointed into the wind. As technology progresses, large generators are becoming as simple as small generators. Direct drive generators and aeroelastic blades for large wind turbines are being researched and direct current generators are sometimes used. Wind is an important renewable source of electrical power and the rate of installation is growing by about twenty five percent per year. In combination with solar power, it is an excellent source of electricity.
Utilization
There are now many thousands of wind turbines operating in various parts of the world, with a total capacity of over 31,000 MWe of which Europe accounts for 75% (2002). This has been the most rapidly-growing means of electricity generation at the turn of the century and provides a valuable complement to large-scale base-load power stations. World wind generation capacity quadrupled between 1997 and 2002. 90% of wind power installations are in the US and Europe.
Wind accounts for only 0.4% of the total electricity production on a global scale (2002). Germany is the leading producer of wind power with 39% of the total world capacity in 2002 (4.5% of German electricity). Schleswig-Holstein province gets 25% of its power from the wind. Denmark gets over 20% of its electricity from wind, the highest perentage of any country.
History
Windmills were first used to pump water and mill grain. The first wind generators were placed atop brick towers, or other buildings.
By the 1930s they were mainly used to generate electricity on farms. The most famous make was the Jacobs Electric. Jacobs discovered and pioneered the modern three-blade, high-speed wind-turbine, with an integrated, low-speed, ungeared generator. In this period, high tensile steel was cheap, and windmills were placed atop prefabricated open steel lattice towers.
The most famous application of the Jacobs wind-generator was to power the radio for the second polar year expedition to the south pole. Nearly thirty years later, during the IGY, explorers found the Jacobs windmill still turning, despite off-the-scale readings on a maximum-measuring wind-speed meter left as an experiment.
In the 1940s, the U.S. had a rural electrification project that killed the natural market for wind-generated power. The techniques were almost lost.
In the 1970s many people began to desire a self-sufficient life-style. Solar cells were too expensive for small-scale electrical generation, so practical people turned to windmills. At first they built ad-hoc designs using wood and automobile parts. Most peeople discovered that a reliable wind generator is a moderately complex engineering project, well beyond the ability of most romantics. Practical people began to search for and rebuild farm wind-generators from the 1930s. Jacobs wind generators were especially sought after.
Later, in the 1980s, California provided tax rebates for ecologically harmless power. These rebates funded the first major use of wind power for utility electricity.
As aesthetics and durability became more important turbines were placed atop steel or reinforced concrete shells. Small generators are connected to the tower on the ground, then the tower is raised into position. Larger generators are hoisted into position atop the tower and there is a ladder or staircase inside the tower to allow technicians to reach and maintain the generator.
Originally wind generators were built right next to where their power was needed. With the availability of long distance electric power transmission, wind generators are now often on wind farms in windy locations and huge ones are being built offshore. Since they're a renewable means of generating electricity, they are being widely deployed, but their cost is often subsidised by governments, either directly or through renewable energy credits. Much depends on the cost of alternative sources of electricity.
There is resistance to the establishment of windfarms due to perceptions that they are noisy and contribute to "visual pollution" i.e. they are considered to be eyesores. Siting them offshore can address these objections in some cases. Other complaints include that windmills kill too many birds.
Further reading
Books
- How the Turbine Works
- Wind Power
- Danish Windpower Association
- Guided Tour on Wind Energy
- Air 403
- Residential Wind Power Q&A
- Links to articles about windpower
- Paul Gipe, Wind Power for Home and Business, ISBN 0-9300031-64-4
External Sites
- http://xahlee.org/Whirlwheel_dir/livermore.html Personal site on The Altamount Pass Wind Farm in California, with 40 plus photos.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Wind turbine."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Windmill near Leiden, NetherlandsA windmill is an engine powered by the energy of wind. It often refers to an engine contained in a large building as in traditional post mills, smock mills and tower mills. It also refers to small tower mounted windmills used to pump water on farms and modern wind turbines generating electricity.
History
In Europe
In Europe, windmills have been used since the Middle Ages and are especially popular in Netherlands. Windmills were developed from the 12th century, apparently from technology gained by crusaders who came into contact with windmills in the Middle East. Persian sources indicate windmill use as early as the 7th century B.C. Common applications of windmills are grain milling, water pumping, threshing, and saw mills. Over the ages, windmills have evolved into more sophisticated and efficient wind-powered water pumps and power generators.
In the United States
The development of the American type water-pumping windmill was the major factor in allowing the farming of vast areas of North America, which was otherwise devoid of readily accessible water, and also allowed the extension of rail transport systems, throughout the world, into areas where water could be pumped up from underground to supply the needs of the steam locomotives of those early times. They are still used today for the same purpose in some areas of the world where reticulated electricity is not a realistic option (including the American .The many-bladed wind turbine atop a lattice tower made of wood or steel was, for many years, a fixture of the rural landscape throughout rural America. These mills, made by a variety of manufacturers, featured a large number of blades so that they would turn slowly but with considerable torque. A tower-top gearbox converted the rotary motion into reciprocating strokes carried downward through a pole or rod to the wellhead below.
In areas not prone to freezing weather, a pump jack (or standard) was mounted at the top of the well below. This was the connection between the windmill and the pump rod, which generally went through the drop pipe to the cylinder below. The pump jack provided a means for manual operation of the pump when the wind was not blowing. Some pump jacks provided a sealed connection, allowing water to be forced out under pressure, but many had a simple spout allowing water to flow away in a trough by gravity.
The drop pipe and pump rod continued down deep into the well, terminating at the pump cylinder below the lowest likely water level. A suction tube usually continued a short distance more. This arrangement allowed wells as deep as 400 feet to be constructed, though most were much more shallow.
The number of moving parts led to the whole arrangement to be rather trouble prone, and "well men," as they were called in the early days, had a profitable business in repair and maintenance work.
The wind turbines and related equipment are still manufactured and installed today in remote parts of the western United States where electric power is not readily available. The arrival of electricity in rural areas, brought by the REA in the 1930s through 1950s, made these windmills obsolete in the Midwest and other more built-up areas. The mills and towers remained for a time. Today, most are gone, victims of storms, rust, and progress.
See also:
- List of windmills
- watermill
- windpump
- wind generator
Links
Indexes
- Google: Wind, Windmills, Business: Wind
mixed
- Windmills at Windmill World
- Paul Gipe has worked with wind energy since 1976. His experience with the technology runs the gamut from measuring wind resources to installing residential wind turbines
- DTU: Danish wind turbine manufacturers
- windmission, Windmission: books
- 2/98 Power from the sky Search for: "Power from the sky".
History
- Google: Mills
- windmillworld: history
Theory
Test and construction
- Paul Gipe: Testing the Power Curves of Small Wind Turbines
- Building the brakedrum permanent magnet alternator as originally designed by Hugh Piggott
- Hugh Piggott - Scoraig Wind Electric, Small wind systems for battery charging
- Article: C. John Dakin, ss. 56-58, Elektor Electronics, 1996.''
- "A low-cost wind generator driven battery charger (January) 1 ? (Page) 56" Look under the topic: "Power Supplies & Battery Chargers". Power output: 10 mi/h: 1 Watt; 20 mi/h: 6 Watt; 30 mi/h: 21 Watt. Propeller design: Scrapyard Windmill Realities - Building Windmills with Recycled Parts by Hugh Piggott. Published by The Centre for Alternative Technology. Machynlleth, Powys. Wales SY20 9AZ. Telephone: (01654) 702400.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Windmill."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
WIND | English | Weather Information Network and Display System | Information, Geography |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: WindSynonyms: breaking wind (n), confidential information (n), fart (n), farting (n), flatus (n), hint (n), idle words (n), jazz (n), lead (n), nothingness (n), steer (n), tip (n), twist (n), wind instrument (n), winding (n), curve (v), hoist (v), lift (v), meander (v), nose (v), roll (v), scent (v), thread (v), twine (v), wander (v), weave (v), wind up (v), wrap (v), wreathe (v). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: take-up (fine arts, engineering & technology). |
| Antonym: unwind (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Deviation | Stray, straggle; sidle; diverge; tralineate; digress, wander; wind, twist, meander; veer, tack; divagate; sidetrack; turn aside, turn a corner, turn away from; wheel, steer clear of; ramble, rove, drift; go astray, go adrift; yaw, dodge; step aside, ease off, make way for, shy. |
Life | Respiration, wind; breath of life, breath of one's nostrils; oxygen, air. |
Velocity | Lightning, greased lightning, light, electricity, wind; cannon ball, rocket, arrow, dart, hydrargyrum, quicksilver; telegraph, express train; torrent. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | At some point a program was written to govern them. A program was written to watch over the trees, and the wind, the sunrise, and sunset (The Matrix Reloaded; writing credit: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski) And in the end you wind up dyin' all alone on some dusty street (High Noon; writing credit: Carl Foreman) You block the wind. (While You Were Sleeping; writing credit: Daniel G. Sullivan; Fredric LeBow) Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I could run like the wind blows (Forrest Gump; writing credit: Eric Roth) They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow; The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; writing credit: Frances Walsh) | |
Lyrics | 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings ("The Wind Beneath My Wings"; performing artist: Bette Midler) Sooner of later you'll get your second wind (You're Only Human (Second Wind); performing artist: Billy Joel) Ride like the wind to be free again (Ride Like the Wind; performing artist: Christopher Cross) Like a candle in the wind (Candle In The Wind 1997; performing artist: Elton John) Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind (Dust in the Wind; performing artist: KANSAS) | |
Clever | Man who breaks wind in church sits in own pew. (references; author: unknown) If you can't control the wind, adjust your sail. (references; author: unknown) We can't control the wind, but we have the power to adjust the sails. (references; author: unknown) We cannot change the direction of the wind... but we can adjust our sails. (references; author: unknown) You may not be able to turn back the clock, but you can always wind it up again. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Die Antwort kennt nur der Wind (1974) Water Wind Earth and Sun (1974) When the North Wind Blows (1974) Down Wind (1973) The Other Side of the Wind (1972) | |
Song Titles | Cold Lonesome Wind (performing artist: Wayne Hancock) Eres Tu (Touch the Wind) (performing artist: Mocedades) She's Like The Wind (performing artist: Patrick Swayze featuring Wendy Fraser) Blowing Kisses In The Wind (performing artist: Paula Abdul) I Am The Wind (performing artist: Fred Penner) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | The hairs act to increase the levels of sensitivity experienced by the wasp to environmental conditions such as wind direction, moisture, and temperature. Credit: CDC. |  | Langley First Wind Tunnel. Credit: NASA. |
 | Orbiter Model in Wind Tunnel. Credit: NASA. |  | Mariner 9 image of the "Inca City". During the Mariner 9 mission, scientists found an unusual rectilinear structure associatedwith the south polar pitted terrain which they dubbed the "Inca City". Located near-80 degrees latitude and 64 degrees longitude, it is likely the result of wind deflationof deposits from underlying rough terrain. The "cells" in the image are about 4-5kilometers in width. Credit: NASA. |
 | A laughing gull rides the wind over the NOAA Ship FERREL. Credit: NOAA's Ark (Animals). |  | Tower at Station Whitsett destroyed by wind Triangulation party of E. O. Heaton. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Camp at Station Wall South Base with tent blown down by high wind Astro party of E. J. Brown. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Two vacationers dwarfed by the shorebreak as an offshore wind whips spray off the crest of the wave. Credit: America's Coastlines. |
 | Rock, spray, and wind make for a tricky entrance to Depoe Bay. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | On the airstrip at Oliktok Point - wind blowing flag straight out. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Wind energy" by Rene Drost Commentary: "Picture of a windmill for wind energy against a blue sky. (4 Mp picture also available)." | "Wind Turbine" by Caron Wiedrick Commentary: "Wind turbines are becoming a greater source for our energy and one I think that will be looked into more after the blackout that effected NE US and Ontario . Magnificient size as seen by the people at its base (this is a small one..) And the sound is asto" |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption | Play | Caption |
 | Wind storm. | | Creaky door swinging in the wind. |
| Creaky door swinging in the wind. | | Three tone wind chime. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
John Bright | Popular applause veers with the wind. |
John Heywood | An ill wind that bloweth no man to good. |
Martin Luther | If I break wind in Wittenberg they smell it in Rome. |
Michel Eyquem De Montaigne | No wind favors him who has no destined port. |
Percy Bysshe Shelley | O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind? |
Samuel Butler | Oaths are but words, and words are but wind. |
Sir Thomas Malory | What, nephew, said the king, is the wind in that door? |
William Shakespeare | Ill blows the wind that profits nobody. |
| Many can brook the weather that love not the wind. | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | But if all the world shall observe pretences of one kind, and actions of another; arts used to elude the law, and the trust of prerogative (which is an arbitrary power in some things left in the prince's hand to do good, not harm to the people) employed contrary to the end for which it was given: if the people shall find the ministers and subordinate magistrates chosen suitable to such ends, and favoured, or laid by, proportionably as they promote or oppose them: if they see several experiments made of arbitrary power, and that religion underhand favoured, (tho' publicly proclaimed against) which is readiest to introduce it; and the operators in it supported, as much as may be; and when that cannot be done, yet approved still, and liked the better: if a long train of actions shew the councils all tending that way; how can a man any more hinder himself from being persuaded in his own mind, which way things are going; or from casting about how to save himself, than he could from believing the captain of the ship he was in, was carrying him, and the rest of the company, to Algiers, when he found him always steering that course, though cross winds, leaks in his ship, and want of men and provisions did often force him to turn his course another way for some time, which he steadily returned to again, as soon as the wind, weather, and other circumstances would let him? Sect. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Winnie the Pooh | A.A. Milne | 'Because when you have been walking in the wind for miles, and you suddenly go into somebody's house, and he says, "Hallo, Pooh you're just in time for a little smackerel of something," and you are, then it's what I call a Friendly Day.' |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | In the meadows, branches of trees broken by grape, but not fallen, and held by the bark, swung gently in the night wind. |
Imitation of Horace | John Dryden | I can enjoy her while she 's kind; But when she dances in the wind, And shakes the wings and will not stay, I puff the prostitute away |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | A keen October wind was blowing round the bank |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | A wind, gentle and sighing, blew in puffs from the southwest, and the mountains on both sides of the great valley were indistinct in a pearly mist |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | Our course was east northeast, the wind was at southwest |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | The Indians had advanced so far as to regulate the effect of the wind by a mat suspended over the hole in the roof and moved by a string |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Leaf litter provides a moist cover from wind, snow, and other elements. (references) | |
Other people like to listen to recorded nature sounds, like ocean waves, the wind, or even crickets. (references) | ||
Business | Wind turbines are a rapidly growing field. (references) | |
Spain is potentially a wind energy powerhouse. (references) | ||
The local government is interested in wind energy projects. (references) | ||
Economic History | Netherlands | A wide range of modern and reliable wind turbines are available. (references) |
Yemen | Many of Yemen's rural areas are perfect for solar or wind generators. (references) | |
Morocco | AES remains in competition on the 200 MW Wind Park tender through ONE. (references) | |
Human Rights | Bolivia | Because of adverse wind conditions, the security forces fired warning shots into the air instead of tear gas. (references) |
Political Economy | GREECE | Greece, which restricted foreign and domestic private investment in public utilities (with the exception of cellular telephony and energy from renewable sources, e.g. wind and solar), has recently opened its telecommunications market and has plans to gradually liberalize its energy sector. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set. A leaf was riven from a tree, "I mean to fall to earth," said he. The west wind, rising, made him veer. "Eastward," said he, "I now shall steer." The east wind rose with greater force. Said he: "'Twere wise to change my course." With equal power they contend. He said: "My judgment I suspend." Down died the winds; the leaf, elate, Cried: "I've decided to fall straight." "First thoughts are best?" That's not the moral; Just choose your own and we'll not quarrel. Howe'er your choice may chance to fall, You'll have no hand in it at all. G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Jerry Lewis | We don't need a wind screen on that God-damn mic. We're going to change that to that, and then we click it here, and we're as good as new. And that's for later. |
Jesse Ventura | Well, first of all, President Bush is going to experience the same thing, too. Approval ratings are just the way the wind happens to be blowing that week. And it's very difficult. |
Richard Gephardt | I think it's a good start. I don't know where we'll wind up with all this. We've got really hear his recommendations, and then try to analyze it to the best of our ability. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Great nations have responsibilities to lead and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile because they might just wind up lowering our flag. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Wind" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 94.32% of the time. "Wind" is used about 7,398 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 94.32% | 6,978 | 1,387 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 4.29% | 318 | 16,181 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.86% | 64 | 42,009 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.49% | 36 | 57,479 |
| Unclassified Items | 0.04% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 7,398 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "wind" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Wind | Last name | 400 | 19,861 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "wind". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Elzaphan | N/A | Biblical | God of the northeast wind |
| Jamin | N/A | Biblical | South wind |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
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