L2: Generating Electricity Flashcards
Name the components of a fossil fuel power station
Furnace/boiler, turbine, cooling tower, generator, transformer, national grid
What happens in the furnace/boiler?
Fuel is burned, which produces heat. This heat is used to evaporate the water, carried into the furnace via pipes, turning it to steam
What is the purpose of the turbine?
The high pressure and kinetic energy of the steam is used to turn the turbine
What is the purpose of the cooling tower?
Here, the steam is cooled down and condensed into water and can be reused.
What is the purpose of the generator?
Turbines are connected to the genrator, which converts kinetic energy in to electricity, by spinning a magnet inside a coil of wire
What is the purpose of a transformer?
Current passes through the wire and reaches the transformer where the voltage/p.d. is increased so that current can be decreased, minimising the amount of energy lost in the overhead wires
What is the purpose of the National Grid?
the electricity moves through wires and is transported to our homes via the National Grid
How is a hydroelectric power station different from a fossil fuel one?
A hydroelectric power station has no furnace/boiler and consequently no cooling tower. This is because the turbine is turned by the kinetic energy of water, which gains it by being stored at heigh in a dam
How would a nuclear power station be different from a fosil fuel one?
Instead of burning fuel to produce heat in order to evaporate the water in pipes, a nucear power station has a reactor in which nuclear fuel (eg. uranium) undergoes a chain reaction to produce heat. Nuclear energy is converted into thermal energy
What is nuclear power?
Nuclear power is non-renewable energy that is generated from the energy stored in the nuclei of radioactive isotopes. It is released in processes known as nuclear fission and nuclear fusion
What is radiation?
The transfer of energy without the transfer of matter. No mediu is needed for radiation to occur.
