Science Fair Projects with Wind Turbines

This is the PicoTurbine Windmill Experiments Kit that Lucas used.

Also available is a money-saving kit 10-Pack Case for renewable energy education in the classroom that is perfect for Schools, organizations & clubs!

PURPOSE

To construct a wind turbine that will light up a 2-volt LED light. Also the purpose is to see if constructing different sizes of blades will affect the voltage generated by the turbine. I will use warm and hot air as well as experiment with the distance of the air source from the blades to see if it produces different results.

HYPOTHESIS

My hypothesis is that a smaller blade will create more electricity because the blade mechanism is lighter and will therefore spin faster. (You need the blades to spin fast in order to create a better electromagnetic field.) I do not think that the temperature of the air will affect how much electricity is generated. However, I do think the distance of the air from the blades will make a difference. I think that the closer the air source is to the blades, the more electricity will be generated.

PROCEDURE

First I placed an order for a Picoturbine Windmill Kit. Most of the items listed under “apparatus” came with the kit. I then built the wind turbine according to the instructions. The instructions are very lengthy. For more information, refer to my work book section.

The purpose of the windmill in these science fair projects is to create a magnetic field that will transfer energy to copper wires which then transfers energy to a light bulb. It does this by spinning magnets over copper wire. The protons and electrons in the magnets create a magnetic field. This loosens up the electrons in the copper wire. These electrons start moving very quickly and move through the copper wire.

To prove that the electrons are moving and producing energy, I connected a LED light to the copper wire. If enough energy is formed in the magnetic field, the light bulb will light up. In order for there to be enough energy, the magnets have to spin very fast.

After I built the turbine, I constructed 3 different size blades. The thickness of the blades were 1 “, 1 ½” and 2”. The 1 ½” blade is the template that came with the Picoturbine kit. I then attached the blades to the wooden dowel and blew air from a hairdryer onto the blades, approximately 3” from the blades. I tried varying the distance of air from the blades to 6” and as well I tried blowing warm air. I used a multimeter to measure the voltage output.

Keep exploring this project at outdoor science fair projects.

Wind power offers great opportunities to do award winning science fair projects because cities are have such a high interest in finding alternative means to electricity.