Wind Turbine Imitates Bird
An African company has invented a new wind turbine inspired by the
world’s smallest bird. The design is aerodynamic and energy-efficient.TECHNOLOGY In the Tunisian start-up Tyer
Winds’ new wind turbine, the three classic
rotating turbine blades are replaced by two
shaped like hummingbird wings. The blades can
move exactly as the wind blows – taking full
advantage of the wind energy – just like when the
bird havers in the air to suck nectar.
The hummingbird wing turbine is still in the
developmental stage, being tested out in the open,but the basic idea is that nature – with its millions
of years of evolutionary history – has a huge
technology innovation potential, including green
energy. Known as bionics, the field of research is
about converting nature’s own solutions into
usable technology. Tyer Wind imagines that the
wind turbine could either stand alone, generating
electricity for one single household, or form part of
a wind farm, becoming a large-scale energy generator.Three rotating blades.
Relatively noisy.
With its up to 75-m-long
blades, it is quite large.
Well-suited for major wind
farms – such as offshore.Two flapping wings
Almost silent.
Can be designed with very
compact wings of 1.6 m.
Can be located very close
together in small areas.ORDINARY WIND TURBINE HUMMINGBIRD TURBINEWASP DRESSED
AS AN ANT
In Peru, scientists have
discovered a wasp with
an abdomen which looks
like the head of an ant.
Some spiders are
consumed by ants, and
the wasp ant appendage
scares spiders away from
their eggs, allowing the wasps
to lay their own eggs on top of the
spider eggs, so the wasp larvae
can feed on the eggs.ILARI EERIKKI SÄÄKSJÄRVI/UNIVERSITY OF TURKUScience Update
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Science Update
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