Coal Power Plant

	In power plants, we utilize the relationship between electrical energy and magnetism to generate electricity. We can also use electrical energy to induce magnetism in some metals, making an electromagnet. An electric current moving through a wire creates a magnetic field around the wire. This field can be concentrated by wrapping the wire into a tight coil. An iron object, such as a nail, inserted into the center of the coil can produce an even stronger electromagnet with an even greater magnetic effect.

Turbine Generator

In the early 1800s, Michael Faraday discovered that if a magnet is moved inside a coil of wire, electrical current flows through the wire. This happens when the magnet exerts a force that causes charges to move through the surrounding wire coil.

Based upon Faraday’s discovery, today, people build generators to produce electrical energy for everyday needs. A generator is a device that transforms mechanical energy into electrical energy. Electrical current is induced in a wire that is exposed to a changing magnetic field. It does not matter whether the wire or magnet is in motion, as long as the magnetic field across the wire keeps changing.

All generators initially produce alternating current (AC), an electric current that reverses its direction within a circuit at regular cycles. The cycling occurs when the north and south orientation of the magnets changes with respect to the wire. When wired to devices that change AC to DC, a generator can produce DC current.

Power plants use generators to transform an initial energy source into electrical energy. Today, nuclear, hydroelectric, and fossil fuels like coal and gas generate the majority of the world’s electrical energy. While individual power plants are fueled in a variety of ways, most use a primary energy source to spin a turbine that powers an electric generator.

Basic AC Generator