When a breeze strikes a turbine – a windmill-like machine that converts wind into electricity – it spins propeller blades connected to gears inside the turbine’s housing. The gears ramp up the spin of the blades, so that even a mild breeze results in a rapid spin of a shaft connected to the gears. The shaft turns magnets around a coil of special wires – a system known as a generator – to create electrical current.
Wind turbines are really big structures. The tower itself is typically between 200 and 300 feet tall. When you add in the height of the blades, some turbines tower 400 feet high! The blades are quite big, too. There are typically three wind blades on a wind turbine. Each blade is usually between 115 and 148 feet long.
Picture Credit : Google
