Methods of Generating Electricity

Electricity generation is generating or creating electricity from other forms of energy, include water, wind and photovoltaic panels. However, these are indirect forms of generating electricity. There are few fundamental and direct sources of transformed other sources of energy into electricity or electrical energy.

The direct sources of transforming energy into electrical energy are static electricity, electromagnetic induction and transforming chemical energy into electricity. It also includes photoelectric process (transforming light into electrical energy), direct conversion of temperature differences to electricity, by means of nuclear energy.

A major chunk of electricity generation is driven by heat engines. The heat to these engines is mostly supplied by combustion of fossil fuels, nuclear fission and other renewable energy sources. Following are some methods of generating electricity.

Turbines
Turbines are a kind of heat engine. Almost all turbines are propelled by a fluid which acts as an energy carrier. Some turbines can be propelled by wind or flowing water. Steam is one of the sources which powers turbines. For steam, the water is boiled either through the heat from nuclear fission, burning coal, natural gas or petroleum. Water is also boiled by using renewable sources of energy like biomass and geothermal power. Solar energy is used to heat the fluid, and then the steam is used to generate electricity. Water which flows at a great force can also drive a turbine to create electricity. Using wind energy on the turbines is another way to generate electricity.

Photovoltaic Panels
Photovoltaic panels convert sunlight directly into electricity, unlike solar heat concentrators. Initially, it was considered to be best suited to rural areas where there is no electricity grid or proper infrastructure. But with an increasing awareness about its environmental advantages, it is being used on larger scale around the world. Many experiments are being conducted to tap solar energy which is the purest source of energy.

Power through Nuclear Fission
When the nucleus of an atom splits, a chemical reaction occurs, which is called nuclear fission. This process takes place in a nuclear reactor as well. The most used mineral in a nuclear power generation process is uranium. It is placed in the reactor's core and random neutrons are released in the core. These neutrons collide with the nucleus of an uranium atom, resulting into a fission, creating a chain reaction. The consequence of this chain reaction is production of large amount of heat in the core. But, there are coolants to tackle this heat and they absorb the heat, and then, heat is transported to a steam boiler through a tube. After this, the heat from the coolant passes through the tube walls, which heats the water, which is obtained from a nearby natural water source. The heated water transforms into steam, which then propels the turbine, generating electricity. A major problem, though with nuclear fission is the nuclear waste, which is extremely harmful for the environment.

These are a few conventional methods of generating electricity. There are a other methods as well, for which a lot of experiments are being carried on. Lot of innovations in this field are being conducted to use minimum amount of non-renewable energy sources to generate electricity. Hopefully, in the near future, solar energy will be in use to generate electricity!