4 ms·
An odd thing I learned about wind turbines recently is that their peak efficiency is capped at exactly 16/27, or about 60%: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bet
by gorgoiler 7y ago
An odd thing I learned about wind turbines recently is that their peak efficiency is capped at exactly 16/27, or about 60%:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law
- alphydan 7y agoit's not odd if you think about what that law is saying. The wind turbine extracts kinetic energy from the wind. If it could extract 100% of the kinetic energy, then the air would simply stop. So incoming air would "pile-up" after the turbine (since it has v=0). Since that is impossible, the air must have some speed after crossing the turbine to make space for the incoming air. The details of that law are simply, how much can you slow it down?