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Windmill
Machine that makes use of wind energy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, by tradition specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but in some parts of the English-speaking world, the term has also been extended to encompass windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications. The term wind engine is also sometimes used to describe such devices.[1][failed verification]
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Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern periods; the horizontal or panemone windmill first appeared in Persia during the 9th century, and the vertical windmill first appeared in northwestern Europe in the 12th century.[2][3] Regarded as an icon of Dutch culture,[4] there are approximately 1,000 windmills in the Netherlands today.[5]