The Windbelt – a Cheap Wind-Power Generator

dominique_cimafranca writes "Shawn Frayne, a 28-year old inventor, has developed a small wind-powered generator that can be used to power small appliances in developing countries. Unlike the typical propeller design one expects of wind generators, the windbelt uses the oscillation of a membrane that follows the vibration of bridge. The oscillation drives small magnets which generate the electricity. From the article: 'Frayne's device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Frayne envisions the Windbelt costing a few dollars and replacing kerosene lamps in Haitian homes.'"

Comments

Re:The simple things in life.

[goodmanj]

This guy is genius.

If your prototype makes milliwatts and Saving the Third World requires gigawatts, that makes you 10^(-12) of a genius.

When he makes one that generates a kilowatt for under $500, *then* I'll start paying attention.

wind powered birth control

[drwho]

What the poor countries really need is less population. The least painful way to do this is birth control. Or, the rich countries of the world could just stay out of the way and let nature regulate the population by the means of starvation, disease, and warfare.