The origin of windmills

Ancient windmills were developed from sails. They have 6 to 8 sailboats, like awnings, distributed on a vertical axis. When the wind blows, they spin around their axis like a lantern, which is called a lantern windmill. Due to its low efficiency, this kind of wind turbine has been gradually replaced by horizontal rotating axis wooden windmills and other windmills, such as "vertical windmills", "automatic rotor windmills", etc.

More than 2,000 years ago, China, ancient Babylon, Persia and other countries used ancient windmills to lift water for irrigation and grind grain. After 12 centuries, windmills developed rapidly in Europe. They use wind energy to lift water, heat, cool, ship, generate electricity, and more.

The first windmills were built in the 7th century in western Asia, probably Syria. Strong winds in this part of the world almost always blow in the same direction, so these early windmills were built for the prevailing winds. They were not like the windmills we see today. Instead, they have vertical shafts and vertically aligned wings. They are very similar to Trojans found on carousel devices.

Extended information:

In ancient China, windmills had obvious characteristics. In addition to the horizontal axis, the sail is also sail-type. Instead of being mounted radially to the axle, the sail was mounted on eight posts around the axle frame. The sail is also hewed, that is, the mast is narrower on one side and wider on the other, and is held taut with ropes.

Western windmills differ in that the blades rotate around a vertical plane. Because the winds in Europe are more variable than those in Western Asia, the windmills also have a mechanism to point the wings in the direction of the wind.

Windmills are not only a landscape, but also a spiritual symbol and totem. The windmill symbolizes the Dutch national culture, people's love for the sky and fairy tale happiness. Windmills can be found everywhere in Spain. Although today's windmills have lost their original function, they do symbolize Spain's agricultural past.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Windmill