page_title: Vaneless ion wind generator
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Vaneless ion wind generator / History
context_page_description: A vaneless ion wind generator or power fence is a device that generates electrical energy by using the wind to move charged particles across an electric field.
  Ion wind generators are not commercially available, though working prototypes and proofs of concept have been created. Several prototypes exist in the Netherlands, one of which resides in Delft University of Technology, whose researchers developed some of the underlying technology. Ion wind generators are currently experimental, while conventional wind turbines are the most common form of wind energy generation. But ion wind generators, which have no moving parts, could be used in urban settings where wind turbines are impractical due to vibrational noise, moving shadows, and danger posed to birds.
caption: Lord Kelvin's Thunderstorm directs oppositely charged droplets of water into metal reservoirs to create a voltage difference.
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