How is produce electricity

This is because the Earth's crust transfers a greater amount of solar energy to the air, causing it to warm, become less bulky, and expand. At the same time, the coldest and heaviest air - which comes from seas, rivers and oceans - is set in motion to take the place left by the warm air. These fluctuations produce moving air and wind is nothing but moving air. Each mass of air that moves from areas of high atmospheric pressure to areas of lower pressure through speeds proportional to the pressure differences between both areas the greater the difference, the stronger the wind blows is considered wind.

The sun's energy comes from sunlight and heat. To transform them into energy, semiconductor metal sheets are needed: photovoltaic cells. These cells are coated with a transparent glass that allows radiation to pass through and minimises heat loss, and have one or more layers of a semiconductor material.

Thanks to these elements, they can manage all that solar energy. Increasingly, we can see solar panels on the roofs of houses and buildings. These panels are fully formed by these photovoltaic cells. Another advantage is that they do not need much maintenance. Basically through the sun's rays. These are composed of photons that reach the photovoltaic cells of the plate, generating an electricity field between them and thus an electrical circuit. The more intense the light, the greater the flow of electricity.

Photovoltaic cells are responsible for converting sunlight into electricity in the form of direct current and with a graduation that varies between and volts. The result obtained can be improved using an inverter, which is responsible for transforming this energy into alternating current , which is what we use in our homes.

Finally, this alternating current passes through a meter that quantifies it and supplies it to the general electricity grid. According to NASA, one of its studies found that the origin of life could be in the electricity generated naturally on the seabed 4 billion years ago. Both water and movement are a source of life and therefore a source of energy. In ancient times, humans already used the current of the river to move large mills.

The progression of the mills resulted in hydroelectric power plants. In fact, the operation of a dam causes a river to be blocked by a concrete wall, flooding the area around the site and creating an artificial lake. Water, as a force of nature, even when held back, harbours an enormous energy potential. The stream produced by this blockage can be converted into kinetic energy the energy of an object in motion if the force of gravity is used.

This is very simple to understand: water falls downwards along a series of large pipes called pressure conduits. In this way, it spins the propellers of strategically placed turbines at high speed to receive the movement from the fall. This system uses the vertical movement of seawater produced by the gravitational force exerted on it by the moon and the sun.

The ebb and flow of the tide generates tidal energy. The caloric energy contained under our feet is gigantic. Geothermal heat pumps are used to generate this energy, extracting or transferring heat to the earth, depending on whether you want to heat the environment, cool it or get hot water. One of the most precise techniques is the injection of liquid water into the earth's interior area to raise its temperature: the water is converted into steam and returns to the power plant full of energy and ready to be transformed into electricity.

The application of this energy depends on the characteristics of each source:. Home Discover energy Energy and more How electricity is generated. How electricity is generated Would you know how to explain quickly and easily how electricity is produced? For that, let's start at the beginning: What is electricity? Where does electricity come from? The step-by-step process is as follows: Power generation: electricity is created in plants capable of obtaining electricity from primary energies.

The so-called renewable primary energies are wind, solar radiation, tides and non-renewables are coal, natural gas and oil. Companies build power generation facilities and own in whole or in part so-called power stations and infrastructure. They sell the energy generated to the companies that market them suppliers. Energy transmission: once the energy has been obtained and after being converted into electricity, it is transmitted by overhead power lines suspended by towers or underground, from the power plants to the substations.

There are other elements there, called transformers, which are used to ensure an adequate electrical voltage. Fossil fuel plants require very large quantities of coal, oil or gas. In many cases these fuels need to be transported over long distances, which can result in potential supply issues. The price of the fuels has historically been volatile, and can rise sharply at times of shortages or geopolitical instability, which can result in unstable generation costs and higher consumer prices.

Most large hydroelectric power plants generate electricity by storing water in vast reservoirs behind dams. Water from the reservoirs flows through turbines to generate electricity. Hydroelectric dams can generate large amounts of low-carbon electricity, but the number of sites suitable for new, large-scale dams is limited. Hydroelectric power can also be produced by run-of-river plants but most of the rivers that are suitable for this have already been developed.

The flooding of reservoirs behind dams and slowing the flow of the river system below the dam can also have a serious impact on the environment and local populations. In terms of the number of deaths from accidents, hydroelectric power is the most deadly energy source.

Nuclear power reactors use the heat produced from splitting atoms to generate steam to drive a turbine. No greenhouse gases are produced in the fission process, and only very small amounts are produced across the whole nuclear life- cycle.

Nuclear power is an environmentally-friendly form of electricity generation, and does not contribute to air pollution. In , nuclear power generated Nuclear power plants, like fossil-fuelled power plants, are very reliable, and can run for many months without interruption, providing large amounts of clean electricity, regardless of the time of day, the weather or the season.

Most nuclear power plants can operate for at least 60 years, and this contributes to making nuclear electricity the most affordable when comparing to other electricity generators. Nuclear fuel can be used in a reactor for several years, thanks to the immense amount of energy contained in uranium. The power from one kilogram of uranium is about the same as 1 tonne of coal. As a result, a correspondingly small amount of waste is generated.

Just 5 grams of this amount is used nuclear fuel — the equivalent of a sheet of paper. There are several management strategies available for the used fuel, such as direct disposal or recycling in reactors to generate more low-carbon electricity.

Renewables, such as wind, solar and small-scale hydro, produce electricity with low amounts of greenhouse gas emissions across their entire life-cycle. In , wind and solar generated 4. They do not produce electricity predictably or consistently due to their inherent reliance on the weather.

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