Thames & Kosmos WIND POWER User manual

EXPERIMENT MANUAL
Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | [phone] | www.kosmos.de
Thames & Kosmos, 301 Friendship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com
Thames & Kosmos UK Ltd, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 2QZ, United Kingdom | 01580 212000 | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk
Beaufort
number
Wind speed
km/h m/s Description Effects on land
0<1 <0.3 Calm No air movement: smoke rises vertically.
11–5 0.3 – 1.6 Gentle air Smoke drifts slightly, but wind vanes don’t move.
26–11 1.6–3.4 Light breeze Rising smoke clearly shows the wind direction. Leaves rustle
and you can feel the wind on your face.
312–19 3.4 – 5.5 Gentle breeze Tree tops, leaves, and thin branches move softly.
420 – 28 5.5 – 8.0 Moderate breeze Branches move. Loose paper is swept up off the ground.
529–38 8.0 – 10.8 Fresh breeze Larger branches and small trees start to sway in the wind.
The wind is distinctly audible.
639–49 10.8 –13.9 Strong wind Thick branches move. Umbrellas are hard to use.
750–61 13.9–17.2 Stiff wind Trees sway and you can feel resistance when walking into
the wind.
862–74 17.2–20.8 Stormy wind Even large trees are moved around and leaves and branches
are torn from trees.
975–88 20.8 – 24.5 Storm Branches break. Bricks and chimneys are damaged.
1089–102 24.5 – 28.5 Heavy storm Trees break or are even uprooted. Garden furniture is blown
away and severe damage is caused to houses.
11 103–117 28.5–32.7 Hurricane-like
storm
Severe damage to forests, roofs torn off, cars thrown out of
their lanes, thick walls damaged.
12 >117 >32.7 Hurricane Most severe storm damage and devastation, especially near
the ocean.
The Beaufort Scale
627928-03-260115
CHECK IT OUT

What’s in your experiment kit:
Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off
No. Description Qty. Item No.
1 3-hole cross rod 4 714 127
2 3-hole dual rod (with anchor pin) 4 714 283
3 Hub 1 716 037
4 Base plate 2 703 237
5 Sticker 1 716 042
6 Tube bracket 2 716 029
7 Curved rod 3 714 285
8 Connection plate 2 702 496
9 Square frame 3 714 284
10 Small pulley 2 716 030
11 XL axle 1 703 518
12 Button pin 2 714 329
13 Battery compartment 1 716 041
14 Blue anchor pin 14 714 129
15 Motor 1 716 033
16 Medium gear wheel, blue 2 710 061
17 Red anchor pin 8 702 527
18 Small gear wheel, red 1 710 062
No. Description Qty. Item No.
19 Joint pin 1 702 524
20 Motor shaft 2 715 677
21 Shaft pin 2 702 526
22 Two-to-one connector 2 714 286
23 LED 2 704 072
24 LED cover 1 716 039
25 Plastic film 1 716 040
26 Rotor blade lock (nose cone) 1 716 038
27 Rotor blade part 1 3 716 035
28 Rotor blade part 2 3 716 036
29 Tube 1 716 028
30 Anchor pin lever 1 702 590
31 Pliers 1 710 059
You will also need:
1 x 1.2-volt rechargeable AA battery (HR6/KR6)
For some experiments: Measuring tape or measuring stick, cable tie, tape,
weight (rocks or books), two cloth handkerchiefs, fan or hair dryer, writing
pad and pen
Optional: Computer with Internet connection, smartphone, compass
10
6
11
15
8
2
14
9
1 3
7
17
16
18 19
20 21
22 23 24
25 26
27
28
29
30
31
13
5
4
12
GOOD TO KNOW ! If you are
missing any parts, please contact
Thames & Kosmos customer service.
Any materials not included in the
kit are indicated in italic script under
the “You will need” heading.
› › › KIT CONTENTS
2

Wind
and Its
Uses
WHAT EFFECT DOES THE WIND HAVE
AND HOW IS IT MEASURED?
The wind can have many different effects — whether as a mild,
cooling breeze, as a powerful headwind that makes it hard to ride
your bike, or even as a hurricane ripping the roofs off of houses.
As long ago as 1806, the Irishman Sir Francis Beaufort had the
idea of using the observed effects of wind for a wind speed scale.
His scale is divided into 12 levels, and is the most commonly used
wind speed scale to this day. Even though he didn’t invent the 12
divisions, he popularized their use among British sailors, for
example. In his honor, the scale is therefore known as the
“Beaufort scale.”
To calculate wind speed from Beaufort wind speed (from 1 to 12),
you use the formula V = 0.836 × B
3/2
, with B standing for Beaufort
wind strength and V for wind velocity in m/s. This will be easier if
you know the complete Beaufort scale shown on the back cover
of this manual.
WHAT CREATES THE WIND?
The surface of the Earth is enveloped in an atmosphere. Because the
strength of the sun’s radiation is different in different regions of the
Earth, those different regions are heated to different degrees. High
temperatures cause warm air to rise and air pressure to drop. On the
other hand, low temperatures make cold air sink and air pressure rise.
This creates high and low pressure areas. As a reaction to this, air
particles will move from the high-pressure areas into low-pressure
areas until the air pressure evens out. This compensatory movement is
what we experience as wind.
CHECK IT OUT
Average Annual Wind Speeds in
the United States
at 100 Meters Above Ground
Source: NREL National Renewable
Energy Laboratory Wind Speed
m/s
>10
9.5 - 10
9 - 9.5
8.5 - 9
8 - 8.5
7.5 - 8
7 - 7.5
6.5 - 7
6 - 6.5
5.5 - 6
5 - 5.5
4.5 - 5
4 - 4.5
<4
14

WHAT’S HAPPENING
When the wind comes to a hill, it is pushed upward at a faster speed.
That’s why the ideal location for a wind turbine is on top of a hill. For
optimal energy production, it makes sense to take advantage of this
“hill effect.”
If you stand between high buildings (or in a narrow mountain
pass), you can notice the same kind of effect. The air is
compressed on the windward side of a building. That can
raise its velocity quite a bit as it blows between the
obstacles around it. This phenomenon is known as
the “tunnel effect.”
Here’s an example: If the normal wind speed in an
open area is 6 m/s, it can reach a speed of 9 m/s in
that kind of tunnel. Through skillful selection of a
location in a tunnel, in other words, you can
increase wind speeds quite a lot relative to the
surrounding area.
Operating the wind
turbine outside
YOU WILL NEED
› Assembled wind turbine with attached LED
› 1.2-volt rechargeable AA battery (HR6/KR6)
› Cable ties
HERE’S HOW
1. As soon as you have gotten to know your
wind turbine, you can take it outside into its
“natural” environment. Take a look out the
window. Is the wind blowing? Ideally,
maybe a light breeze (see back cover)?
Okay, time to go outside.
2. Look for a place where you can attach your
wind turbine to something like a wooden
stake or a metal pipe. Ideally, find a free-
standing lawn umbrella stand or a wooden
stake that you can pound into the ground.
In that case, be sure to remove the wind
turbine’s base plate.
3. Secure the wind turbine to the stake or pipe
with two cable ties. Make sure that
everything is tightly attached. If you do that, it will take a wind
strength of at least 4.5 m/s to knock your wind turbine over.
4. The best thing would be a movable attachment — in other words, if
you can easily take your wind turbine along with its stake or pipe to
another location and set it up there. If you can move it around, you
can easily find out where the wind is blowing the strongest. Right up
on top of a hill? Or at the foot of the hill, in its valley? And how
about between two buildings standing close together?
3
Hill effect
Tunnel effect
Warning! A few drops of rain will
not hurt your wind turbine, but it
is best to bring it inside during
constant heavy rain.
16
EXPERIMENT 3
Wind Power V3 Manual Inside.indd 16 7/1/16 4:32 PM