How to Increase the Weight a Windmill Can Lift

What can be done to increase the weight that a windmill can lift?

a) Make the fan blades smaller.

b) Make the arms of the windmill longer.

c) Make the arms of the windmill shorter.

d) Make the fan blades out of a lighter material.

Answer:

Making the arms of the windmill longer increases the torque, enabling it to lift heavier weights.

In terms of increasing the weight that a windmill can lift, the most effective decision would likely be b) Make the arms of the windmill longer. This is because the longer arms of the windmill will increase the torque, or rotational force, that the windmill can exert. The larger the arm, the greater the leverage, which results in rising the potential of the windmill to lift heavier loads. This principle is akin to using a longer lever to lift a heavy object: the longer the lever arm, the less force is needed to lift the object, due to an increase in torque.