How is Energy Produced?

Electrical energy was one of man’s greatest discoveries. It has helped build new civilizations. The large amount of electricity produced has its source in fossil fuels, nuclear fission, water, and wind.

Electricity is churned out by enormous turbines. These turbines need a support to be moved. There are various ways of moving these turbines:

Fossil fuels
  • Electricity is produced when the blades of a turbine are moved by enormous amounts of vapour. This vapor is generated by heating a lot of water in huge furnaces. The water is heated by burning fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
Water
  • A popular method to produce electricity, a water dams serves two purposes: restricting water bodies and producing electricity. Water dams use the river water to move turbines, helping them produce electricity. Electricity generated this way helps control air pollution; however, this method of electricity production adversely affects the ecosystem in the water bodies.
  • Water accounts for 90 percent of the world’s electricity generated through renewable resources.
Wind
  • Electricity is produced when wind energy is converted to electrical energy. Wind mills or wind turbines are used to churn up enormous amounts of wind energy which is then converted into electrical energy.
  • The latest in wind energy advancement tells us that wind energy is helping create portable cell phone chargers.
Nuclear fission
  • Nuclear fission causes a chain reaction where the element Uranium is bombarded by neutrons causing it to split. The result of the chain reaction generates a lot of heat which is used to heat water the vapor of which eventually moves turbines to create electricity.
Bio-waste
  • With technological advancements, electricity is also being produced by bio-waste. Bio-gas is a typical way of generating electricity in rural areas in countries like India. New technology evolved that uses human waste to generate electricity.