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Here are some pictures of a 'kit' I put together for a special one-off
project in a school. http://www.interactives.co.uk/minds_workshops_wind.htm
I bought a large number of extremely cheap motors from a British educational
supplier called TTS. This firm also sells inexpensive 'clips' with
self-adhesive pads to fix down the motors.
http://www.tts-group.co.uk/Product.aspx?cref=TTSPR597137 I bought
pre-drilled wooden hubs into which 5mm wooden 'spokes' fitted. I cut a whole
load of dowels to the same length for the spokes. Children cut their own
turbine blades from 4mm corrugated plastic sheet:
http://www.tts-group.co.uk/Product.aspx?cref=TTSPR597082 The hollow channels
in this material pushed tightly onto the 5mm wooden dowels. Unfortunately
TTS have temporarily discontinued the 'spoked' wheels. I just phoned them,
and they say they are thinking about re-introducing them next year.

The next problem was how to fit the spoked wooden wheels to the motor. TTS
sell a tiny plastic pulley that fits tightly onto the shaft of their motor.
It's a fairly standard size with these little motors. The children glued a
pulley into the central hole of their wooden wheel so then the wheel fitted
snugly onto the motor shaft. 

A mains-powered desktop fan provided the wind. We used crocodile clips and
the school lab's digital multimeters to measure the output of the
motor-'generators'. It this point teams began competing for the highest
meter reading and everyone suddenly became even more excited and
motivated...

The electrical output from these motors is measurable but low. In order to
light an LED lamp it is better to use the high-efficiency motors often sold
with postcard-size solar cells.

Before anyone asks, this was a one-off project and I'm not selling these
kits, just sharing how to put something like this together.


Promoting public engagement with science
through a contagious delight in phenomena
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Give people facts and you feed their minds for an hour.
Awaken curiosity and they feed their own minds for a lifetime.
*
Ian Russell 

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