wind

Install Shelves That Make Your House Look Windy

These shelves throw caution to the wind. They’ll blow you away. They’re a breeze. Can’t. Stop. Puns. Everywhere. Look, the point is that paper scattering in the wind is a great motif for shelves and these are super pretty. OK? Fine.


Monster Machines: How To Inspect Windmill Blades Without Leaving The Ground

Getting to the top of a wind turbine is no small feat — akin to summiting the Washington Monument — and even more difficult when the wind farm is at sea. So rather than force human inspectors to make the perilous climb, Helical Robotics has developed a magnetic turtle to do it for us.


Japan Mulls Nixing Nukes In Favour Of Farming Wind

Japan has quite had its fill of nuclear power, thank you very much. As the country rebuilds from the devastating 2011 tsunami and subsequent Daiichi power plant disaster, it’s looking toward alternate energy sources. Good call, minna-san.


Monster Machines: World’s Biggest Wind Turbine Is As Broad As An Airbus 380

The first commercial offshore wind turbine that Siemens created 30 years ago had 5m long blades and produced a paltry 30kW. A lot can change over three decades. The company’s newest offshore model isn’t just the biggest in the sea; it’s the biggest anywhere.


Wait, Water On The Moon Came From… The Sun?

Water on the moon is nothing particularly revelatory. But a new study suggests that H20 on the surface of the Earth’s nearest neighbour comes from a most unlikely place: the Sun.


Monster Machines: New Battery Uses Air To Store Excess Wind Power

Wind farms simply aren’t reliable sources of steady power, which is why many rely on enormous battery systems to store excess current for times when the wind isn’t gusting enough to meet our energy demands. But the production of these batteries is itself a drain on resources. So what if — instead of lithium and metal hydride batteries — wind farms could just store energy using the same air that spins the propellers?


Monster Machines: Behold The World’s Only Category 5 Hurricane Simulator

When Hurricane Andrew rolled ashore in South Florida back in 1992, it destroyed $US27 billion worth of property. The storm was the third most destructive to ever hit the US, an outcome due in part to the insufficient building codes of the time. Structures simply weren’t built to withstand the storm’s fury. These days, Florida ensures that new construction can stand up to the next Andrew by torture-testing building materials against a massive Wall of Wind.


Tiny Rooftop Turbine Could Make Urban Wind Farms A Reality

There’s a reason that wind farms are placed offshore rather than in urban areas — the turbines are typically huge, difficult to erect, and need a solid sustained gust to produce any meaningful amount of current. This prototype, on the other hand, will assemble more easily than an Ikea bookshelf and quietly produce kilowatts atop skyscrapers.


iPhone Wind Meter Lets You Make Your Own Surf Forecasts

Your local forecaster’s weather predictions are a good start if you’re a surfer — or really any athlete who relies on the wind — waiting for the perfect conditions. But for more precise on-the-spot forecasts, Shaka’s anemometer accessory turns your iPhone into a handheld weather station.


No One Would Complain If All Wind Turbines Looked This Beautiful

We’ve yet to discover a perfect source of clean energy, and while wind turbines come close, many people still consider them to be an eyesore. But we don’t think anyone would complain if they all featured the beautiful spinning helix design of the Hercules turbine.


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