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Wind-powered Vehicle
Wind-powered vehicles derive their power from sails, kites or rotors and ride on wheels—which may be linked to a wind-powered rotor—or runners. Whether powered by sail, kite or rotor, these vehicles share a common trait: As the vehicle increases in speed, the advancing airfoil encounters an increasing apparent wind at an angle of attack that is increasingly smaller. At the same time, such vehicles are subject to relatively low forward resistance, compared with traditional sailing craft. As a result, such vehicles are often capable of speeds exceeding that of the wind. Rotor-powered examples have demonstrated ground speeds that exceed that of the wind, both directly ''into the wind'' and directly ''downwind'' by transferring power through a drive train between the rotor and the wheels. The wind-powered speed record is by a vehicle with a sail on it, ''Greenbird'', with a recorded top speed of . Other wind-powered conveyances include sailing vessels that travel on water, and bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LandYacht
A land yacht is an informal category of large automobiles. While full-size cars are manufactured worldwide to this day, the term is most often used in reference to full-size cars of American origin between 1960 and 1976. Alongside full-size and luxury four-door sedans, the land yacht term was applicable to multiple body styles, including two-door notchback sedans, personal luxury coupés, convertibles, and station wagons. Land yachts are among the largest mass-produced cars manufactured, a category which is represented by full-size SUVs. American cars The term "land yacht" began to appear in the late 1950s, as full-size luxury cars began to grow in size independently from mainstream nameplates. Initially descriptive of the high level of comfort features and soft ride, land yachts were designed "for the open road where living room-comfortable seats made the front seat seem like a plush couch with a windshield and steering wheel in front of it." During the 1960s and 1970s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology has varied across history, many terms have specific meanings in the context of modern yachting. A great number of sailboat-types may be distinguished by size, hull configuration, keel type, purpose, number and configuration of masts, and sail plan. Popular monohull designs include: Cutter The cutter is similar to a sloop with a single mast and mainsail, but generally carries the mast further aft to allow for a jib and staysail to be attached to the head stay and inner forestay, respectively. Once a common racing configuration, today it gives versatility to cruising boats, especially in allowing a small staysail to be flown from the inner stay in high winds. Catboat A catboat has a single mast mounted far forward and does not carr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Foil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. A solid body moving through a fluid produces an aerodynamic force. The component of this force perpendicular to the relative freestream velocity is called lift. The component parallel to the relative freestream velocity is called drag. An airfoil is a streamlined shape that is capable of generating significantly more lift than drag. Airfoils can be designed for use at different speeds by modifying their geometry: those for subsonic flight generally have a rounded leading edge, while those designed for supersonic flight tend to be slimmer with a sharp leading edge. All have a sharp trailing edge. Foils of similar function designed with water as the working fluid are called hydrofoils. The lift on an airfoil is primarily the result ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kite
A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face of the kite so the wind can lift it. Some kite designs don’t need a bridle; box kites can have a single attachment point. A kite may have fixed or moving anchors that can balance the kite. The name is derived from kite (bird), kite, the hovering bird of prey. The Lift (force), lift that sustains the kite in flight is generated when air moves around the kite's surface, producing low pressure above and high pressure below the wings. The interaction with the wind also generates horizontal Drag (physics), drag along the direction of the wind. The resultant force vector from the lift and drag force components is opposed by the tension of one or more of the rope, lines or tethers to which t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International DN
The International DN is a class of iceboat. The name stands for Detroit News, where the first iceboat of this type was designed and built in the winter of 1936–1937. Archie Arrol was a master craftsman working in the Detroit News hobby shop, and together with iceboaters Joe Lodge and Norman Jarrait designed a racing boat they called the "Blue Streak 60", later to become known as the "DN 60". In 1937 a group of 50 laymen worked with Archie in the hobby shop to produce the first fleet of the new iceboats. These first boats broke during the initial season, and after Jarrait and Lodge modified the design to increase the strength, the group got back together to build a second set of iceboats in 1938. This design, featuring a narrow, single-person cockpit, three steel blades in tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle ric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wind Speed
In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer. Wind speed affects weather forecasting, aviation and maritime operations, construction projects, growth and metabolism rate of many plant species, and has countless other implications. Note that wind direction is usually almost parallel to isobars (and not perpendicular, as one might expect), due to Earth's rotation. Units Metres per second (m/s) is the SI unit for velocity and the unit recommended by the World Meteorological Organization for reporting wind speeds, and is amongst others used in weather forecasts in the Nordic countries. Since 2010 the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also recommends meters per second for reporting wind speed when approaching runways, replacing their former recommendation of using kilometres per h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecotricity
Ecotricity is a British energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, specialising in selling green energy to consumers that it primarily generates from its 87.2 megawatt wind power portfoliothe company prefers the term windmill rather than wind turbine. It is built on the principle of heavily reinvesting its profit in building more of its own green energy generation. The company was founded in 1995 by Dale Vince, who remains in control; in 2022 he announced an intention to sell the company, which has around 200,000 domestic and business customers. Besides the supply of gas and electricity, Ecotricity's initiatives include the creation of one of Britain's first electric vehicle charging networks, which was sold to Gridserve in 2021. History Ecotricity was started by Dale Vince in 1995 as Renewable Energy Company Limited, with a single wind turbine he had used to power an old army truck in which he lived on a hill near Stroud. From that, Vince went on to build comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location. Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night put strains on the rocks, which consequently break in pieces. Although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter, and the resulting fragments and rubble strewn over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dry Lake Bed
A dry lake bed, also known as a playa, is a basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body, which disappears when evaporation processes exceeds recharge. If the floor of a dry lake is covered by deposits of alkaline compounds, it is known as an alkali flat. If covered with salt, it is known as a '' salt flat.'' Terminology If its basin is primarily salt, then a dry lake bed is called a '' salt pan'', ''pan'', or ''salt flat'' (the latter being a remnant of a salt lake). ''Hardpan'' is the dry terminus of an internally drained basin in a dry climate, a designation typically used in the Great Basin of the western United States. Another term for dry lake bed is ''playa''. The Spanish word ''playa'' () literally means "beach". Dry lakes are known by this name in some parts of Mexico and the western United States. This term is used e.g. on the Llano Estacado and other parts of the Southern High Plains and is commonly used to address paleolake sediments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airfield
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes include small general aviation airfields, large commercial airports, and military air bases. The term ''airport'' may imply a certain stature (having satisfied certain certification criteria or regulatory requirements) that not all aerodromes may have achieved. That means that all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports. Usage of the term "aerodrome" remains more common in Ireland and Commonwealth nations, and is conversely almost unknown in American English, where the term "airport" is applied almost exclusively. A water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes, floatplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. In formal terminology, as defined by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
