A
turbine (from the
Latin turbo, a
vortex, related to the Greek ,
tyrbe, meaning "
turbulence"), is a rotary mechanical device that extracts
energy from a
fluid flow and converts it into useful
work. A turbine is a
turbomachine with at least one moving part called a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with
blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades so that they move and impart rotational energy to the rotor. Early turbine examples are
windmills and
waterwheels.