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《机械工程前沿(英文)》 >> 2017年 第12卷 第3期 doi: 10.1007/s11465-017-0414-5

Windmills: Ancestors of the wind power generation

1. Department of Industrial Engineering University of Naples “Federico II” via Claudio, Naples 80125, Italy.

2. Consultant of Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore Esercito, Torre Del Greco 80059, Italy

录用日期: 2016-12-29 发布日期: 2017-08-04

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摘要

A brief description of the windmills from the second millennium BC to the Renaissance is presented. This survey is a part of several studies conducted by the authors on technology in the ancient world. The windmills are the first motor, other than human muscles, and are the ancestors of the modern wind turbines. Some authors’ virtual reconstructions of old windmills are also presented. The paper shows that the operating principle of many modern machines had already been conceived in the ancient times by using a technology that was more advanced than expected, but with two main differences, as follows: Similar tasks were accomplished by using much less energy; and the environmental impact was nil or very low. Modern designers should sometimes consider simplicity rather than the use of a large amount of energy.

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