Generating Electricity (Oxford AQA IGCSE Physics)
Revision Note
Written by: Dan Mitchell-Garnett
Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll
Generating Electricity
Fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are used to produce energy on-demand when energy is needed
This is done by:
Burning the fuel to heat water
The water boils creating steam
Rising steam is forced around the system and this turns a turbine
The turbine turns coils in a magnetic field in the generator
This generates electricity in the form of an alternating current using the generator effect
The electricity is transferred to the National Grid
The steam within the turbine will cool and condense and then be pumped back into the boiler to repeat the process
A coal powered thermal power station
Other power stations use different methods of rotating a turbine to generate electricity
A wind turbine uses wind to rotate its large turbine, which then turns a coil in a generator
A hydroelectric dam uses the passage of water through the dam to rotate its turbine and cause the coil to spin in the generator
A geothermal power station uses steam from water pumped underground (which is heated by hot rocks in the Earth's interior) to rotate a turbine
A hydroelectric dam power station
A geothermal power station
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You don't need to memorise the specifics of each power station. These examples are meant to show you that a wide variety of power stations use the same principles of turning a turbine to generate electricity.
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