Electricity Generation - 7 Types of Energy Creation
Posted: Thursday, October 28, 2010
by Daniel Hoffman
http://energycreation.net
Just what is meant by electricity generation? Well, to put it bluntly, it is the production of energy through the use of an electrical medium. Energy being, basically, movement, and electrical being the adjectival modifier meaning in a manner having to do with electricity, or more specifically, the movement of electrons.
So in english, electricity generation means getting electrons to move, be it in a wire, a circuit or any other component that is used to convert the electron motion into usable work.
Here are those seven methods:
- static electricity this is what makes lightning
- electro magnetic induction this is the type of electricity generation that produces the majority of electricity that we use in our homes
- electrochemistry using chemical reactions to get electron flow i.e. a battery
- photoelectric effect this is how solar panels work
- thermo electric effect the direct conversion of temperature differences to electricity
- piezoelectric effect production of electricity due to the strain on certain types of crystals and other special materials
- nuclear transformation this is not normal nuclear reactor stuff, which falls under the category of electro magnetic induction -- because a turbine is being turned, rather this is electricity which occurs because of betavoltaics and alpha particle emissions
I will briefly touch on a few of these just to give a broad overview of how it works.
Most atoms have electrons. These are tiny negative charged particles that are drawn towards positively charged things and pushed away by other negatively charged things. The most common positively charged things are protons, that reside in the nucleus of atoms, and the most common negatively charged things are other electrons. So one way of getting these electrons moving is by rubbing two materials together that a) pull electrons off of one of the material's atoms, and b) puts the electrons onto the other material's atoms. Oh, by the way, most atoms are usually electrically neutral, meaning the electrons and protons cancel each others charges, and nothing spectacular occurs. But this rubbing action does a remarkable thing. It makes the item you took electrons off of electrically positive. And if you take a look at the other item, it, with it's excess of electrons, is now electrically negative. So now, you just need a path for the electrons to take for them to move towards or away from each material. You can create this path simply by touching another material that easily allows electrons to flow, such as a doorknob. The electrons will keep flowing until both sides have reached an equilibrium. Basically, until they are neutral to each other. And voil, static electricity.
Another form of energy creation I wanted to touch upon was the electro-magnetic induction method. It is the method preferred by electric companies. It relies on the peculiar property of a moving magnetic field, to induce electron flow into a nearby piece of metal or wire. The opposite phenomenon of a moving electrical charge creating a magnetic field is what makes a motor possible. Instead of turning motion into electricity, a motor turns electricity into motion.
However, when a magnetic field is moving relative to an electric charge, this causes the electric charge to move. Either the magnetic field can rotate around the electric charge or the electric charge can be moving inside of a stationary magnetic field. The important thing is that the magnetic field is moving in relation to the electric charge.
So an electro-magnetic induction generator induces a current in a wire that is rotating inside and cutting through magnetic field flux lines. The magnetic field is moving in relation to the electrons in the wire, and so the electrons move.
Now, whether we get AC or DC current depends on whether we use slip rings or a commutator to carry the current to the load.
And that is basically how you make electrons flow.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)good one.i like.
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