While the use of seaworthy boats has been noted as far back as 45, B. Some of the earliest evidence of sail technology comes from the Cucuteni-Tryptillian culture in Eastern Europe, whose ceramics depict sailing boats around the sixth millennium BCE. Mesopotamian evidence from slightly later also provides evidence of sailing boats, and later, around BCE, sails had been developed in Egypt. Maritime exploration wasn't the only historical use of wind as a power source.
Windmills were first used in Hellenistic Greece. Heron of Alexandria c. Windmill technology took off in central Persia in the ninth century A. Using six to twelve sails covered with reeds, early windmills were used to grind grain or to draw water.
Historians are unsure whether these earlier Near Eastern windmills directly inspired the later development of European windmills, first used in France and Belgium during the late 12th century.
European windmills, used to grind cereal grains into flour, underwent numerous developments and improvements during the late Middle Ages and early Modern period. To this day, windmills remain an iconic symbol of many localities in Northern Europe, notably Holland.
As far back as , a windmill was first used as a means of generating electricity. While wind power did see further development during the early to mid 20th century, the real push for its development began in the early s. It was at this time that concerns with fossil fuel use came to a head. Four different turbine designs were developed, pioneering the technology that led to the efficient wind farms of today. It was also around this time that NASA developed the Viterna method, a model that takes into account the three dimensional effects and stall behavior of turbines to better predict their performance.
In the later 's and early 's, there was a temporary decline in interest and funding for wind research. This was driven partly by very low oil prices at the time, which made wind power uneconomical in comparison. Today, ongoing advancements in wind technology have helped make wind more reliable and efficient than ever as a clean power source.
By the end of , there were over , turbines worldwide 2 , generating about 3. As wind turbines continue to be refined and improved, wind power stands as one of the most important alternative energy sources for the 21st century and beyond. In , the three countries that produce and use the most wind energy are China, the US, and Germany.
In , China installed more wind turbines than all the countries within the European Union combined, and currently makes up The US accounts for slightly less of the global share of wind energy, but has states such as Iowa and Texas, where a huge percentage of energy comes from wind. Their two most popular usage scenarios are electricity turbines which are becoming more and more able to provide serious potential of generation of power, and windpump windmills that are often placed in remote locations where self-sustaining machines are needed to provide regular movement of water either for agriculture or for accessing water from deep underground wells.
History of windmills reaches back years, all way to the 2nd millennia BC when Babylonian ruler Hammurabi supposedly unveiled his plans to convert the power of the wind using automated network of irrigation windmills that would provide water to his land. But his plan was never realized, and historians never found concrete proof that he made any significant headway.
More than 1, years later Greek engineer Heron of Alexandria captured the power of the wind using windmill that was part of one of the earliest examples of the musical instrument called organ. Half a world away in Tibet and China, windmills were used in a much smaller form — form of prayer wheels. Modern windmills as we know them today started first appearing around 8th and 9th century in middle east and Western Asia. Initially popularized by Muslims, windmills soon arrived in India, China and Europe, where they went through several cycles of incredible innovation.
First examples of Post Mills started being made around 11th century, with more advanced models of Tower and Smock mills being made in the following centuries. Two countries that were home of the most wind mills were England and Netherlands, but many other European countries also adopted windmills and their usefulness. Netherlands had so many of them that they dedicated significant landmass area to the foundation of windmill-based industry, which remained in use for several centuries.
Ellington, CT, issued August 29, Smith, Maryanna S. Chronological Landmarks in American Agriculture. Version, Nov. Thomas, J. The Legacy of David Miles Hotchkiss. Leatherman Dies — Today in History: March Other CT Humanities Programs.
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