Windmills Nina and the Neurons

# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help Cos she's got a science show

# She makes sense of her senses While helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

# Touch your tongue Fingers

# Eyes ears Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke he helps us with our eyes and Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells and scents and Belle she hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother he helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons and they're coming to your place

# Touch your tongue Fingers

# Eyes ears Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know yeah!

# Nina and the Neurons Find out what you need to know

# Oh, yeah! #

Come on. Down you come.

Oh, hello there. Oh, look at this! Hee-hee-hee!

Hee-hee-hee!

Ha-ha-ha!

So the wind from the hairdryer turns this part and makes it move.

It's brilliant, isn't it?

-BLEEP

-Oh!

I hear a beep, I see a flash, I wonder what they're going to ask.

BOTH: Hi, Nina.

Hi.

-We've got a question for you.

-How do windmills work?

That's a great question! How do windmills work?

Windmills use the wind to do difficult jobs like grinding

flour and even making electricity.

But how do they work?

Why don't you come down to my workshop and we'll investigate?

BOTH: See you soon, Nina. Bye!

Bye!

Well, I'm going to need some help to answer this one,

and I know just who to ask.

OK, Neurons, time to get to work!

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina!

OK. Today's question is how do windmills work?

Now, which Neuron do you think will be most useful in helping us

find the answer?

It's Belle!

CHEERING

ALL: Go, Belle! Go, Belle! Go, Belle!

Brilliant! I'm all ears, Nina!

Today's question is how do windmills work?

Now, windmills can be very noisy machines.

Belle will be helping us today but stand-by, Neurons!

I've a feeling I may need help from all of you.

I need to get the workshop ready before the experimenters arrive.

Aaron likes playing computer games.

Sylvia loves music.

But they both want to know how do windmills work.

So today, for one day only,

Aaron and Sylvia become the experimenters!

Hi, guys!

BOTH: Hi, Nina!

Welcome to my workshop, and thank you for your great question,

"How do windmills work?"

Well, windmills are amazing buildings,

and they can do all sorts of jobs for us.

First, let's have a look at a photo of a windmill, and tell me,

-what does it look like?

-It's got bits sticking out.

Yes, and the parts that are sticking out are called the sails.

Now, when the wind blows, it pushes against the sails

and makes them move round, so let's do an experiment to find out more.

ALL: Woop-woop! An experiment! We're ready, Nina!

So this tube is our windmill.

Oh, but I think something's missing.

It's the sails.

You're right. We need to add the sails to catch the wind.

So go for it, guys.

That's it. Push it right in.

Woo-hoo!

Good.

They're doing great. It looks like a real windmill.

Well done.

Now, what else does the windmill need to work?

The wind.

Yes, and I've got a fan here that'll be our wind,

so let's switch it on and get this windmill moving.

Hee-hee!

Oh, dear! The sails aren't turning.

Oh, dear. Something went wrong.

The sail didn't turn!

We need to have a look at the photo of the real windmill

to figure out what went wrong. What do you notice about the sails?

They're not flat, Nina.

That's right! The sails on the real windmill are at an angle.

So let's try that in our windmill.

That might help.

Very good.

That's it!

OK, let's see if this will help the sails to turn around.

Here we go!

Yay, it worked! Ha-ha-ha!

All: Hooray!

Let's imagine that this is the wind.

When the sails were flat,

the wind pushed the sail backwards

but it didn't push it round.

When the sails were at an angle,

the wind still pushed the sails backwards

but also to the side.

So the sails moved round.

So the wind pushed the sails round in a circle.

What do windmills do?

That's an excellent question!

Well, to find out more I think we need to visit somewhere that's very

famous for special flowers and special buildings.

Hmm, where do you think we're going today?

Nina said somewhere famous for flowers and buildings.

Maybe it's a castle garden with lovely smelling roses.

Oh, I hope there are no spiky thorns.

I don't see a castle but it does look very beautiful.

So your question was how do windmills work?

So far we've discovered that windmill sails are at an angle

and the wind pushes them round.

Now we want to know what do windmills do?

We've come to De Kat Windmill near Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

How would you describe it, experimenters?

It's big!

The sails are moving.

Yes! A long time ago there were lots of windmills all over

the Netherlands doing lots of different jobs like grinding wheat

for bread or sawing wood.

Let's go inside and investigate.

Sniff, sniff! Fabulous smells! Dry, musty and a whiff of chalk.

What a racket, Nina!

This windmill grinds chalk mixed with colour to make powder paint.

-This is Piet. He's the miller. Hi, Piet!

-Hi, there.

So, Piet, what do these big stones do?

Well, they're grinding limestone and chalk.

Why do you get the windmill to do that?

The stones will be very heavy and my arms are not so powerful

and not so strong. You know, we're using the wind.

Can you see what's making the stones go round?

The big hole in the middle.

Yes! As the big pole is turning, it's making the stones go round too.

Let's go upstairs to find out more.

-Bye, Piet.

-Bye-bye!

-So what can you see in here, experimenters?

-Big wheels.

With teeth.

So these big wheels with teeth are called cogs.

Wheels with teeth!

Munch, munch!

And this is how they work.

These are the sails being turned by the wind outside.

They then make the sideways pole turn and that then makes the

downwards pole go round.

But, Nina, that pole is sideways and the one that moves the stones

-was pointing downwards.

-That's right, Luke.

They're both pointing in different directions, so how do they turn?

Well, it's because they're both joined to cogs.

I've got a great experiment that will help to explain how cogs work.

So let's go!

So your question was how do windmills work?

So far we've discovered that sails turn poles and cogs to do

jobs like grinding chalk.

Now we want to find out how cogs work, so let's get experimenting.

So for this experiment, Sylvia, your umbrella is like the sideways

pole that's turned by the sails from the top.

Aaron, your umbrella is like the downwards pole that makes

the stones turn at the bottom.

So, Sylvia, can start turning the sideways pole, please?

Oh! The umbrellas are turning.

So what's happening?

My umbrella's turning too.

That's right!

The ridges on the umbrella are like the teeth on the cogs. Ha-ha!

The same thing happens with windmills.

Wind blows the sails round, which turns the sideways poles,

which turns the cogs.

These cogs then make the downwards pole go round,

which turns the stones to grind the chalk.

So the wind turning the sails grinds the chalk.

Marvellous!

Do we still use windmills now?

That's a great question and, yes, windmills still do amazing things.

But they don't all look like this.

Have you seen one like this before?

Yes, Nina.

This is called a wind turbine.

Wind turbine. That sounds interesting.

Wind turbines work in the same way as windmills do

but instead of grinding things like chalk, they make electricity.

The wind still helps us do lots of different jobs every single day.

# Nina and the Neurons. #

Your question was how do windmills work?

I think we've answered it.

Windmills have angled sails that turn when they catch the wind.

When the sails turn, they turn a sideways pole.

Cogs join the sideways pole to a downward pole...

Which turns big stones that grind things.

Nowadays we use wind turbines to make electricity.

So I hope that's answered your question.

BOTH: Thanks, Nina! Bye!

You're welcome. Bye!

If you want to know more about the science that's all around us

go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website. Have fun!

# Super structures Super structures

# Super structures Super structures

# Superstructures

# Some of them are tall Some of them are wide

# They're bumpy, lumpy, wiggly too

# Wiggly too

# Some of them are strong Some of them are small

# Like me!

# They're windy, whirly, whooshy too

-# All around

-Look over here

# Build it, stack it Pile it up

# Come on, let's get building

-# Building!

-Building!

-Building!

# Race it, hold it, make it stick

# Come on, let's get building

# Come on, let's get building

# Some of them are cosy warm Some of them are chilly

# Keep us safe and hide us too

# Hide us too

# Some of them are just for fun Or help us to stay dry

# They're underground And high up too

# Look around Over here

# Build it, stack it Pile it up

# Come on, let's get building

-# Building!

-Building!

-Building!

# Race it, hold it Make it stick

# Come on, let's get building

# Come on, let's get building! #

And remember there are super structures everywhere.

Whether they're big or small, wide or tall

we can all get building.

See you again soon. Bye!

-ALL: Bye!

-Get building!