In the early 19th century, the history of the world was changed. Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction. From here, electricity evolved to completely dominate many sectors of life in the developed nations of the world.
The laws of electromagnetic induction state voltage is created in a loop of conductive wire when the magnetic field inside of the loop changes. I won’t go into gory detail because the majority of us have learned in physics, will learn this in physics, can use Google, or just don’t care.
But I bring up electromagnetic induction because it is the property that led to the creation of electricity. Magnets are rotated around loops of thick wire to create the current of moving electrons that is electricity. For years, and through today, the main form of electricity production is using a turbine and generator.
Fuel, whether it is coal, natural gas, geothermal, nuclear, etc., is used to create heat. This heat is used create steam from water. The steam, which is pressurized, turns a turbine, which turns the magnets in the generator that cause the magnetic field to change within the loop of wire, creating electricity.
Even some of the newer energy sources rely on the same concept. Wind turbines and hydroelectric plants use the power of the wind and water, respectively, to turn the turbines directly to create electricity.
As I was pondering the future of energy (especially after our sustainability discussion), I wondered why there is such a reliance on this turbine-generator system. Looking into it, I found some very interesting things.
You may have noticed that I left out solar energy in my list of sources earlier. This is because it does not use a turbine. Solar panels contain photo-voltaics. These convert energy directly from sunlight (photons) to electrons – the photons transfer energy to electrons which, with the added energy, can be freed from their material to flow through wires, creating electricity.
Furthermore, I stumbled upon thermocouples, which are called thermoelectric generators (TEG) when discussing electricity. They transfer heat directly into electricity without using turbines. To my surprise, they are not just prototypes or theoretical; TEG are used in satellites that are sent to Jupiter and Saturn – they are too far from the sun to rely on solar power.
I still wonder which of these sources is the most efficient. I assume it is the turbine system because it is most widely used, but I don’t know. In the quest for sustainability, the focus is many times the fuel source. The discussion usually revolves around technology as well. I think it would be interesting, and maybe more beneficial, to change the focus of research. With all of these new methods of creating electricity, could there be way to create electricity without using the usual fuels, which pollute our Earth and deplete our natural resources.
A final random thought: why electricity? It took years and many developments in many different times to discover electricity, to then create electricity (later improved to make efficient), and finally to learn that it can be used to power things, and to take advantage of this power. What if there is something other than electricity that can do the same?
3 responses to “Electricity”