How is Electricity Generated?

Electricity is the flow of electrons in a wire (such as copper). Brainpops Electricity Electric Currents Electromagnetic Induction

A quick overview of electricity… Watch this video clip of how energy can be generated (created) and made available to consumers (us!).video clip

In order to understand how electricity is made you first need to know how a turbine generator works.

Diagram of a Turbine Follow along as we draw a turbine and label its parts…

How Electricity is Generated By A Turbine 1. Something has to turn the blades (could be water, wind, steam, or something else). 2. The blades turn the shaft.

3.The shaft spins magnets attached to it. The magnets are wrapped in copper wire. 4.Electrons in the copper wire begin to move, creating an electric current (or electricity). 5.The electricity goes to a transformer, which creates the correct voltage for us to use.

Getting the blades to spin… In the U.S., most turbines are turned by STEAM. To create steam, water must be heated by –Burning coal –Burning other “fossil fuels”, like natural gas or oil –Using nuclear power

1.The fuel is burned to boil water to make steam 2.The steam makes a turbine spin 3.The spinning turbine turns a generator which produces electricity 4.The electricity goes to the transformers to produce the correct voltage

Sometimes different things can be used to spin the blades of a turbine generator. WIND

Water can turn a turbine In hydropower, water drops a distance and turns the blades of the turbine.

WATER (Hydro)

We often take electricity for granted. Read this story about a day in the life of one man. He uses electricity in at least 20 ways. After reading, list 15 of the ways he uses electricity in his daily life.

This morning, Jim awoke to the buzzing sound of his alarm clock. He turned it off and then flipped the switch on his bedside lamp. After a good morning stretch, he got out of bed and went to adjust the thermostat on his heater. Jim went to the kitchen and filled the coffee pot with water to heat on the stove. He opened the refrigerator door and took out a blueberry muffin. “Nothing like a good cup of hot coffee and a warm muffin to get you started on a cold, winter morning,” he thought. While enjoying his coffee and eating the muffin he had toasted, he sat down at the computer to check his . He had no new messages, so he turned his attention to the TV to catch up on the news. The only story of interest to him was the one about three people being trapped in an elevator at a local department store, but thankfully, they had been rescued. When his cup was empty, he placed it in the dishwasher and went into the bathroom to complete his morning routine. He turned on the hot water and washed his face. He turned on his razor and shaved. He wet his hair and quickly blew it dry. After ironing his shirt and getting dressed, he turned on his alarm system and left the house. His car was quite cold when he cranked it. He sat for a few minutes and let it heat up. After the engine was good and warm, he left for work.

He really needed to be on time today, since there was an important meeting, but unfortunately, the first traffic light he came to was malfunctioning. It was stuck on red, and he had to wait several extra minutes while a road crew repaired it. Once he was able to move on, he drove quickly, but safely, to his office. When he arrived at his desk, he grabbed the notes he needed for his meeting, ignoring the fact that the copy machine had put a black streak down the middle of his copies. He rushed to the escalator and rode up to the fifth floor. He entered the room where the meeting was just getting underway. After greetings were out of the way, Jim and the workers at the power company began discussing the first item of business…how to prepare people in case of another citywide power outage like the one they had just experienced the week before. Write down the 15 ways this man uses electricity.

Answers 1. alarm clock 2. lamp 3. thermostat on heater 4. stove 5. refrigerator 6. toasted muffin (toaster mentioned in next paragraph) 7. computer 8. TV 9. elevator 10.dishwasher 11.hot water heater 12.razor 13.blow dryer 14.iron 15.alarm system 16.car engine 17.traffic light 18.copy machine 19.escalator 20.power company