The “SkyBrator”

Shown here is a bladeless wind turbine that generates electricity from the vibrations the wind sets off in it.  The company says it has plans to create a 140 meter turbine with a power capacity of 1 megawatt.

Let’s do some math, based on the (dubious) assumption that this device captures the same percentage of the kinetic energy in the wind as conventional turbines do (80+% of the theoretically available energy, or about 50% of the total).

The power generated by a wind turbine is proportionate to its swept area, so let’s say that the area swept by that device is that of a rectangle we could estimate to be 1 meter X 140 meters, or 140 meters², which we’ll convert to that of a circle with radius 7 meters.  Let’s plug all this into our friendly wind power calculator, which uses the equation: Power = π/2 * radius² * wind velocity³ * air density * efficiency–and find that we’d need an average wind speed of 30 meters/second or 67.1 MPH.

The company is looking for industrial partners and other investors.  Anyone who thinks constant wind speeds of 67.1 MPH exist anywhere on Earth should jump right on it.  Others may wish to proceed with caution.