why does wind power increase exponentially, not linearly, with increase of wind speed?
In: Physics
There’s two things at work.
First; kinetic energy increases with the *square* of velocity, and not just velocity itself. That squaring is, by definition, not linear. On top of this, there’s also the fact that the mass of the air also contributes to the kinetic energy, so if the velocity is higher, you get an extra gain in the form of more mass being moved.
Second, and as a general rule in all power production; it gets easier to produce power as the increase in difference between the “hot” side and the “cold” side of your reaction, due to thermodynamic truisms that are at play in the background. This is seen most clearly in engines; in general, the hotter your engine runs, the more efficient it will be. For wind turbines though, the equivalent of your “hot” side is the velocity of the wind, and the “cold” side is the velocity of the wind turbine relative to the wind (in this case, it’s static, so zero).
Latest Answers