Friday, July 15, 2011

How do the windmill blades demonstrate Newton's 3rd law?

The blades of a wind turbine are impacted by air molecules striking the surface like bouncy balls. There is a slight inclination of the turbine blades relative to the disc plane of the turbine. This gives wind a deflection opposite the rotation of the turbine blade, and the turbine blade in return (as per Newton's third law) receives a torque in the direction of rotation.

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