Historically the only thing that windmills have been used for is to pump water, grind grain, produce electricity, and just sit decoratively. A windmill is a wind-powered device that is used to produce some form of energy. There are so many windmills that range from very simple to very complex. Although they were used more in the past, they are still common and widely used today. Some people say that windmills went out of style in the 1940's. Yeah right!.
History.
The history of windmills has been very influential in understanding them and discovering new ways to make them better. The need for windmill first arose because people wanted an easier way to grind grain than with two stones. The first windmills were believed to have been built in the tenth century, but the first written record of one was in the twelfth century. It is recorded in 1185of a windmill in Weedly, Yorkshire.
Persia was the first to harness the wind using a windmill. They used this ability for whatever they could think of. Chins followed and instead of having to use a wall to direct the wind at the windmill, they made sails for the blades and set them at angles so that they would be constantly moving. The Dutch invented a great polder mill that used thatch instead of weatherboard. In Holland, the people built windmills because the water level was too high. They needed the windmill to pump the water into dikes that led down to the sea. Although Britain didn't make the greatest contribution, they made a windmill out of stone and brick instead of the traditional wood back then. This made them stronger.
Modern.
In some parts of the world, you may never see a windmill. Yet in other parts, you may see them every day. Dane Poul La Cour invented the first electric output windmill in 1891. There have been lots of advances since then. By this time windmills were being called turbines. Many people were using turbines for electricity for small farms.