Electrical Energy is considered by many experts to be the most important source of power consumed by industry, commercial buildings, institutions and homes. It is supplied by electricity generating stations. Traditional electricity generating stations manufacture electricity in electrical generators. This is accomplished by turning those generators with turbines that are in turned by a number of sources. In the case of fossil-fuel burning stations, energy sources such as coal, oil, natural gas (actually, any source of fuel that is carbon based) are used to boil water. That water is boiled into high pressure steam. This high pressure steam is what turns the turbines that turns the generator that in turn manufactures electricity.
But there are other ways to create electric power not using fossil fuels. It can also be created using nuclear reactors to boil water and then generate electricity in the same way as mentioned above. The same process of turbines turning electrical generators and generating electricity also takes place in hydroelectric power plants that use falling water to turn electrical generators.
Renewable sources such as wind work on the same principle. Geothermal plants use high pressure steam and heat from under ground to turn turbine-generators. Finally, electricity can be created from solar radiation through photovoltaic cells.
Electrical energy is not something you pump or mine or collect from the sun or wind. Electrical energy is created through the conversion of power from one source to another, through innovation, ingenuity, planning and hard work.
Most people don't understand or think about where their electricity comes from. They just turn on the light switch or start the appliance or push the button and something works. It's only when there is no electricity available that they start to consider the importance of it in their daily personal and working lives.
Electrical energy is right next to the invention of the printing press in the list of major contributions to the advancement of human civilization.
Without it, we would be burning wood and coal to heat our homes and businesses and using oil and candles to light our way in the dark. That is the way it was for humans civilization for countless centuries. Only since the invention of the electric generator have humans been able to advance in every aspect of modern life. In fact, modern living is defined by electric power.
What is It? It is a form of power. It is the flow of electrons. All matter is made up of atoms, and an atom has a center, called a nucleus. The nucleus contains positively charged particles called protons and uncharged particles called neutrons. The nucleus of an atom is surrounded by negatively charged particles called electrons. The negative charge of an electron is equal to the positive charge of a proton, and the number of electrons in an atom is usually equal to the number of protons. When the balancing force between protons and electrons is upset by an outside force, an atom may gain or lose an electron. When electrons are "lost" from an atom, the free movement of these electrons constitutes an electric current.
The Basics. It is described in many ways. When electricity flows through a conductor, a magnetic field (or "flux") develops around the conductor. The highest flux density occurs when the conductor is formed into a coil having many turns. In electronics and basic electrical energy, a coil is usually known as an inductor. If a steady DC current is run through the coil, you would have an electromagnet - a device with the properties of a conventional magnet, except you can turn it on or off by placing a switch in the circuit.
How Does It Work? - This is a very common question. It can best be explained by stating this way: Single-phase electricity is what you have in your house. You generally talk about household electrical service as single-phase, 120-volt AC service. If you use an oscilloscope and look at the power found at a normal wall-plate outlet in your house, what you will find is that the power at the wall plate looks like a sine wave, and that wave oscillates between -170 volts and 170 volts (the peaks are indeed at 170 volts; it is the effective (rms) voltage that is 120 volts). The rate of oscillation for the sine wave is 60 cycles per second. Oscillating power like this is generally referred to as AC, or alternating current. The alternative to AC is DC, or direct current. Batteries produce DC: A steady stream of electrons flows in one direction only, from the negative to the positive terminal of the battery.
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