Download Script: How is electricity produced

Script: How is electricity produced?
How is electricity produced?
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Electricity is produced by turbine generators.
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These generators convert mechanical energy (the turning of the turbine) into electrical energy with
a combination of three things:
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Magnets
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Wire (copper)
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Motion
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So simple electric generators found in power plants contain magnets and copper wire that when
put into motion relative to one another create the electric current that is sent out to homes.
What do magnets have to do with electricity?
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In 1831 Michael Faraday discovered something called electromagnetic induction.
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A small magnet field is produced by electrons that spin around the nucleus of an atom.
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The magnetic field is not strong enough to make most objects magnetic.
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Most things are not magnetic because the electrons spin in opposite directions of each other and
cancel each other out.
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The electrons in a magnet spin in the same direction creating a much stronger magnetic field.
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When a coil of copper wire is rotated between the poles of two magnets an electric current is
created or induced.
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Electromagnetic induction is the act of rotating a coil of wire through the magnetic field to induce
a current.
Production of Electric Current
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Electric current can be generated from numerous ways from various sources which include:
Fossil fuels –coal, oil, petroleum, natural gas
Nuclear power -uranium
Hydropower-water
Geothermal power –heat beneath earth’s surface
Solar power –sun
Wind power -wind
Biomass-wood, garbage, agricultural waste.
What are the most common methods of generating electricity?
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Steam turbines- Most commonly used in the United States today
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Coal is the most commonly burned fossil fuel
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Internal-combustion engines
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Gas combustion turbines
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Wind turbines
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Most power plants are only about 35% efficient.
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No matter which method is used to produce electricity the goal to turn the blades of the turbine in
order to produce an electrical current.