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Component Two: Task One: Provide a history of the National Critical Technology (NCT) technical application your team is researching. Include at least three significant scientific discoveries, advances and milestones using documented facts and figures. Wind turbines for renewable energy have been improved upon many times throughout history. Between 1887 and 1888, was when the first wind turbine was believed to be created by Charles F. Brush.  His wind turbine is classified as the first automatically operating wind turbine used for the generation of electricity. The turbine contained 144 blades made of cedar wood, and the diameter of the blades was 50 feet or 17m. The wind turbine was used to charge batteries in his basement. Although his wind turbine created energy, it was not efficient. Later Dane Paul la Cour discovered that fewer blades moving at a higher speed was more efficient than more blades moving at lower speed. In 1904 Johannes Juul (http://www.windpower.org/en/pictures/lacour.htm) was a student of Dane Paul la Cour, but afterward in 1956-57 he developed the world's first alternating current or AC wind turbine. The turbine contained three blades that were evenly spread out but hooked together to avoid any mishaps. This wind turbine also contained a brake, incase the turbine reached an unsafe speed. This turbine ran for 11 years without repairs. In 1980 the use of wind turbines increased, thus causing the cost per kilowatt-hour of energy to decrease by 50 cents. Currently the wind industry is still using the same previous designs, three blades that move very fast. In addition wind turbine farms are appearing all over the world more and more and they are even appearing in large bodies of water. Also the rate of efficiency of wind turbines has increased due to their placement and schematics. The current goal of the wind industry is to make wind turbines even more efficient for the amount of revolutions per minute or hour they do. Presently there are wind turbines that are in the category of multi-megawatt. One change in these newer turbines is the length of the blades, which was increased to 80m from the older models of 17m. The multi-megawatt turbines are just their name; they create multi-megawatts of energy, which is an enormous amount of energy for a wind turbine to create, and is unprecedented. Many scientific discoveries have been made in the past, to enhancing the wind turbine (http://www.windpower.org/en/pictures/lacour.htm).Task Two: Identify two scientists or engineers who have made major contributions to the development of the technical application your team selected and explain how their work is related. Several scientists have made major contribution to the development of the wind turbine. In the area of wind energy, Rick Halstead is a major competitor, and is currently creating a wind turbine company. Through many years of research he designed a line of wind turbines that are available for sale. His specialty is creating VAWTs or vertical axis wind turbines. These turbines can capture air and harvest it from any direction except up and down. When the blades on the turbine are moving at a low speed, the efficiency increases by 35-50%, which may seem low but is actually higher than most other wind turbines currently being manufactured and sold. Mr. Halstead himself is often known to brag about the fact that his wind turbines are very easy to install, and are incredibly effective. He also formed a program that provides Russian scientists and engineers, who formerly used to make weapons, with an opportunity to make a living in something not related to weapon making. Mr. Halstead's work is related to our project because it deals with wind turbines, and wind energy, like ours does. The difference is that instead of being able to use our portable version in every day life Mr. Halstead is creating stationery wind turbines that are much larger and create much more energy then our turbine. Another scientist who was prolific in the industry of wind energy was Dane Poul la Cour. It was Mr. Poul la Cour who realized that a wind turbine with more blades rotating at a slower speed was inefficient,  so he made a model of a wind turbine that had three blades, which would rotate very quickly. Before he came to this insight, however, he had first tested wind turbines containing four, five, or more blades. Poul la Cour was fascinated with wind energy, and built a wind tunnel for his personal use and experiments. He is also known for his work in electrolysis, and using the electricity from the wind turbine to manufacture hydrogen, which powers the gas light in his school. In 1905 Mr. Poul la Cour (http://www.windpower.org/en/pictures/lacour.htm) founded the Society of Wind Electricians, which was for fellow scientists who were interested in wind technology, like he was. The enrollment for his club grew exponentially in the years to come. He also published the world's first wind journal, which he called Journal of Wind Electricity. Major contributions to the wind turbine have been made throughout the years, with the help of many engineers.Dane Paul la Cour and wife.
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