How much wind would a wind turbine make if a wind turbine could make wind?
this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2026
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To shreds, you say?
😂
Not very much actually. Because of the way windmills are designed it would be very hard to spin the blades by applying power to the generator, and even if you overcame that obstacle somehow the design of the blades would make it so it wouldn't really push that much air.
Windmills gather the torque from the giant blades and pass it to a strong shaft that is connected to a gearbox which converts the torque into high rotational speed. That rotational speed is then transferred from the gearbox to the generator through a smaller shaft that is designed for high speed rotation. If you try to reverse the rotation you would need to put in enough torque through that smaller shaft to overcome the inertia of the blades, since the shaft is not designed for higher torques it would most likely snap.
The blades themselves are airfoils designed to specifically generate the highest lift when wind is applied from a specific direction. Similar to how plane wings are designed to generate lift when air moves over them from a specific direction. That also means that if you make them move in reverse they would not generate that much lift so they wouldn't actually push the air around. It would be like trying to take off with a plane by accelerating it backwards.
I see two problems with your assessment here.
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The gearbox is not going to be an issue. It will be very low torque if you try to drive it from the generator side because of that reduction. You’d have to spin it very fast but it would be low torque. The gearing makes it easier, not harder, like a car in first gear. (Or, from the power generation perspective, like engine braking in first gear.)
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The blades aren’t running in reverse. You’d rotate the shaft the same direction as when it’s generating power.
Direct drive turbines are becoming more popular as they avoid the gearbox wear issue: https://www.spinningwing.com/wind-turbines/direct-drive
Not much at all, it's much more efficient to create sunlight by plugging PV cells into an outlet
42
i think that depends on how much power u apply. it could also be possible that it cannot start from stand-still, because thats always a difficulty with electric motors in that they need that initial push somehow.
i think while generators can technically be turned into motors, they still make a shit motor, bc theyre just not designed for that purpose.
These generators make 3 phases, so they don't have that problem
oww yea, smort :3
Not even single phase motors have that problem if designed properly lol when's the last time ya AC fan didn't spin up
You have not understood the situation
Wild assumption
I'm walking about if wind turbines were designed to be reversed
Isnt the fun thing about electric motors that you can run them in reverse to generate power?
Yes, but they're not symmetric in terms of efficiency. Some work better in one direction VS the other.
not much at all as the blades point the wrong way for forward wind, you might get some behind it