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A system for electro-hydrodynamically extracting energy from wind includes an upstream collector that is biased at an electric potential and induces an electric field. An injector introduces a particle into the electric field. The wind drag on the particle is at least partially opposed by a force of

A system for electro-hydrodynamically extracting energy from wind includes an upstream collector that is biased at an electric potential and induces an electric field. An injector introduces a particle into the electric field. The wind drag on the particle is at least partially opposed by a force of the electric field on the particle. A sensor monitors an ambient atmospheric condition, and a controller changes a parameter of the injector in response to a change in the atmospheric condition.

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1. A system for electro-hydrodynamically extracting energy from wind, the system comprising: an upstream collector biased at an electric potential, the electric potential inducing an electric field;an injector that introduces a particle into the electric field, wind drag on the particle being at lea

1. A system for electro-hydrodynamically extracting energy from wind, the system comprising: an upstream collector biased at an electric potential, the electric potential inducing an electric field;an injector that introduces a particle into the electric field, wind drag on the particle being at least partially opposed by a force of the electric field on the particle;a sensor that monitors an ambient atmospheric condition; anda controller that changes a parameter of the system in response to a change in the atmospheric condition to increase energy extraction efficiency. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the particle carries an electric charge. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the particle is a droplet of a liquid. 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the droplet of liquid includes a working liquid and at least one of a solid particle and a lower-volatility liquid immersed within. 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the injector forms a Taylor cone. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the injector is an electrospray injector. 7. The system of claim 2, wherein the particle is charged close to the Rayleigh limit for the particle. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the atmospheric condition is at least one of ambient wind speed, temperature, pressure, and humidity. 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the parameter of the system is at least one of particle size, electric charge per particle, particle flow rate, electric potential, electric field strength, particle composition and a separation between the upstream collector and electrical ground. 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a downstream collector. 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the downstream collector is larger than the upstream collector. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the injector comprises at least one of a MEMS device, a metal needle, a plastic needle, and plastic tubing. 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the injector comprises a dielectric-barrier discharge device. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the particle is an ion. 15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a shaped structure for increasing wind speed within the electric field. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the shaped structure is a diffuser. 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller responds to changes in the atmospheric condition in real time. 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the injector is the upstream collector. 19. A method for electro-hydrodynamically extracting energy from wind, the method comprising the steps of: biasing an upstream collector at an electric potential, the electric potential inducing an electric field;injecting a charged particle into the electric field with an electrospray injector, wind drag on the particle being at least partially opposed by a force of the electric field on the particle;monitoring an ambient atmospheric condition; andchanging a parameter related to at least one of the particle and the electric field in response to a change in the atmospheric condition to increase energy extraction efficiency. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the atmospheric condition is at least one of ambient wind speed, temperature, pressure, and humidity. 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the parameter is at least one of particle size, electric charge per particle, particle flow rate, electric potential, electric field strength, and a separation between the upstream collector and electrical ground. 22. The method of claim 19, further comprising collecting the particle with a downstream collector. 23. The method of claim 22, further including the step of extracting power with a load coupled between the upstream collector and the downstream collector. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the load is a transformer. 25. The method of claim 19, further comprising increasing wind speed within the electric field. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the wind speed is increased by using a shaped structure. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the shaped structure is a diffuser. 28. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of changing the parameter occurs in real time. 29. The method of claim 19, wherein the particle is positively charged. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein each particle is a droplet of a liquid. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the droplet of liquid comprises at least one of a solid particle and a low-volatility liquid. 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of injecting further comprises forming a Taylor cone. 33. The method of claim 19, wherein the each droplet is charged substantially near the Rayleigh limit for the droplet. 34. The method of claim 19, further including the step of condensing the particle from the ambient atmosphere. 35. A method for electro-hydrodynamically extracting energy from a flowing working fluid, the method comprising the steps of: introducing a charged particle into the flowing working fluid;collecting the charged particle with a downstream collector;monitoring an ambient atmospheric condition; andchanging a parameter related to at least one of the particle and the electric field in response to a change in the atmospheric condition to increase energy extraction efficiency. 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the charged particle is introduced by an electrospray injector. 37. The method of claim 36, further including the step of charging the particle substantially near the Rayleigh limit for the particle. 38. The method of claim 35, wherein humidity is monitored and particle size is increased in response to an increase in humidity. 39. The method of claim 35, wherein the charged particle is introduced by an upstream collector, the method further including the step of extracting power with a load coupled between the upstream collector and the downstream collector. 40. A system for electro-hydrodynamically extracting energy from wind, the system comprising: a microelectromechanical electrospray injector that charges and injects a particle into the wind, the charged particle including a low-volatility carrier substance immersed in a carrier liquid, the injector including: a nozzle plate coupled to a surface of a reservoir, the nozzle plate including a plurality of nozzles in fluid communication with the fluid, wherein the nozzle plate is held at a first electric potential;a charge plate disposed a predetermined distance from the nozzle plate, the charge plate including holes therethrough, each hole opposing a nozzle of the nozzle plate, wherein the charge plate is held at a second electric potential opposite that of the first, such that the potential difference between the charge plate and the nozzle plate pulls a portion of the fluid from the reservoir toward the charge plate;a downstream collector, coupled to electrical ground, that collects the charged particle;a load coupled between the injector and the downstream collector;a sensor that monitors a system parameter; anda control system that changes a system configuration in response to a change in the system parameter to increase energy extraction efficiency. 41. The system of claim 40, wherein the diffuser is radially symmetric, with an intake and a throat with a smaller diameter than the intake, wherein the upstream collector is located at the throat of the diffuser. 42. The system of claim 40, wherein the sensor measures space charge, and the control system changes the injector injection pattern to reduce the space charge in response to the space charge exceeding a predetermined threshold. 43. The system of claim 40, further including a shaped structure for changing a wind parameter within the electric field. 44. The system of claim 40, wherein the charged particle is injected transverse to the wind direction. 45. The system of claim 40, wherein the charged particle is a positively charged droplet of liquid, and the load is a transformer.