Japanese scientist creates 'typhoon turbine' that can harness power of most destructive storms
Scientist creates bladeless wind turbine he says can stand up to raw force of storms better than three-blade wind turbines common in many countries
Most people look for a place to hide when a typhoon is on the horizon, but Atsushi Shimizu hopes that the fury of nature may one day help resource-poor Japan tackle its energy woes.
Shimizu’s egg-beater shaped creation - it has three cylinders and a central rod - responds to wind coming from any direction and doesn’t use a propeller to spin.
Instead it takes advantage of the Magnus effect, a force that sees air curve when passing by a spinning object, such as a football.
“There are some estimates that wind power has more potential here than solar,” said the 37-year-old, who quit his job at an engineering firm to launch startup Challenergy in 2014.