Windmill

Windmill, machine that performs work by harnessing wind power. In the traditional windmill the power applied to a horizontal shaft by 4 large radiating sails is transmitted to milling or pumping machinery housed in a sizable supporting structure. The windmill's modern counterpart is the wind turbine, often seen in rural areas. Here a multibladed turbine wheel mounted on a steel derrick or mast and pointed into the wind by a fantail drives a pump or electric generator.