Wind Turbines

• Wind turbine windmill.Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Sabrina Mae
  
  The wind turbine windmill is characterized by its giant three-rotor design. This type of windmill is used to generate mechanical power and electricity, by converting kinetic energy (energy of motion) into mechanical power. The mechanical power connects to a generator, which is converted into electricity. In simple terms, you could say that wind turbines use wind to make electricity and the electricity from the wind turbine travel through distribution lines to provide electricity to schools, businesses and homes.
  
  

Post Mill

• Post mill.Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Marc
  
  The post mills were first developed by the French and English and built throughout Russia, Europe, America and colonies all over the world. The first of these European windmills did not have brakes and were constructed until the mid-19th century. The post mill is used for grinding stone, but they are small in size and this limits their grinding capacity. There are two types of post mills. The open post mill's bottom timbers are exposed to the elements. And the closed post mills' bottom timbers are enclosed and can be used for storage.
  
  

Simple Drain Mill

• The simple drain mill is used to pump water into irrigation canals. Exclusively found in the Friesland province of the Netherlands, this small mill is designed with sails fixed to an Archimedean screw inside a hollow pipe. The simple drain mill is usually in places where the land is extremely swampy.
  
  

American Windmill

• American windmillImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of Randy
  
  The first American windmill was invented by Daniel Halladay in 1854 in Connecticut. Halladay patented a windmill that did not require the constant attention of an operator. His windmill was made of wood and required a lot of maintenance. But as time went by, metal windmills were introduced and found to be more reliable. Also found to be more reliable were the self-oiling gearboxes and pivoting wind wheels, used by the windmill. These more efficient, maintenance-free windmills were being used by railroad companies and settlers.
  
  

Tower Mill

• Tower MillImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of David Blaikie
  
  The tower mill is a European windmill built along the sea shore, facing the sea and used to generate energy. The sails of tower mills are like the sail of a boat. The sails have several masts--structure above the upper part of the boat to hold sails--are fixed to a rotating shaft and were first built both on and offshore near Crete, Italy and Greece. There are different styles of tower mills. Grondzeilers' sails rotate and can be accessed from the ground. Beltmolen is built on top of a hill or dike. Binnenkruier is a mock mill with a cap turned by a tail fan. Buitendkruier's cap is turned by the tail pole.