UNITED KINGDOM — An omnidirectional wind turbine meant to hang from skyscraper balconies has won first prize in the 2018 James Dyson Awards. <br /><br />According to New Atlas, the O-Wind Turbine — a crooked, vented spherical device — is designed to generate electricity in the chaotic wind conditions of urban areas. <br />Modern cities and their skyscrapers alter wind patterns, causing three-dimensional vortices where wind is constantly changing directions. <br />Taking inspiration from NASA's "tumbleweed" technology, a team from Lancaster University designed a turbine with a somewhat spherical shape, covered in vents that have large inlets and small outlets for air to pass through. <br />Because of Bernoulli's principle, differences in pressure cause the turbine to rotate clockwise around a single fixed axis regardless of which direction the wind comes from. <br /><br />The rotational energy from the turbine can then be used to run a generator and produce electricity. <br /><br />According to team member Nicolas Gonzalo, the device could allow, "people living in apartments to generate their own electricity."
