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www.iop.org/journals/physed
E-mail: steve.appleyard@dec.wa.gov.au
Abstract
A simple horizontal axis wind turbine can be easily constructed using a 1.5 l
PET plastic bottle, a compact disc and a small dynamo. The turbine operates
effectively at low wind speeds and has a rotational speed of 500 rpm at a
wind speed of about 14 km h−1 . The wind turbine can be used to
demonstrate the relationship between open circuit voltage and wind speed,
and to show how varying the size, shape and number of turbine blades can
affect power output from the device.
(a)
0 Acknowledgments
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wind speed cubed (km h–3) I would like to acknowledge input provided by
an anonymous reviewer and the Editor, which
Figure 6. Relationship between wind speed cubed
and open circuit voltage produced by the wind substantially improved the quality of the final
turbine constructed in this study. paper.