Energy Flashcards
Steps in a coal powered station
- pulverization
- transported to furnace
- thermal energy, boil water, steam
- steam, blades of turbine, spins
- turbine, shaft of generator, magnets, coils, electricity
- electric current, power lines
Hydroelectric power plant
Falling water, turbine, kinetic energy from water to generator
Generator converts
Mechanical energy to electrical energy
Portable generators
Run on fuel to turn shaft
Dynamo
- small generator
* person rotating a crank
Generator consists of
Large metal coils which move within a magnetic field. Stationary, rotated
Most alternative energy sources
Renewable
Only one commercial nuclear power station
Koeberg, Cape Town
Radiation
Nuclei in unstable elements spontaneously emit particles, nucleus is said to be radioactive
Radioactive decay
Process in which an unstable nucleus of an atom emits particles, decays into another atom, different mass
Nuclear fission
Nucleus is split into two smaller atoms, huge amount of energy
Nuclear fusion
Two atoms are brought together, new, bigger atom, heat and radiation
Uranium
Unstable, undergoes radioactive decay at slow rate, good choice for feul
Main difference between nuclear power station + other power station
Way in which water is heated to produce steam
Nuclear reactor vessel
Nuclear reactions, take place, controlled
Nuclear power sation needs to control
Huge amount of energy released during nuclear fission of uranium in order to generate electrical energy
Uranium is formed
Pellets, long rods, reactor core
Rods together make
Bundle, water, overheating and melting
Rods also contain
Control rods, help to control process
How do the rods heat the water?
Large amounts of energy produced by nuclear fission reaction in rods heat water to produce steam
Steam
Turns turbines, kinetic energy to generator, electricity
Nuclear reactor is contained
Within special container, barrier to radiation
General method for producing electricity
Turn turbine, turn generator
