Electricity is a natural phenomenon made of electric current, to understand what electric current consists of we must first remember that all known matter is made of the same basic components in other words atoms, the nuclei of atoms are made of protons that have positive charges and neutrons that do not have electrical charges, this means that the nucleus has positive charges, orbiting the nucleus are particles with little mass that have negative charges (these are electrons). Therefore, we can say that for the electricity that reaches our TV, radio or video games, it has to have a starting point, which is power plants.
What is a power plant?
Before electricity reaches homes or industries, it needs to undergo a major process that begins in power plants, power plants obtain the energy they need from a wide variety of sources, thermonuclear plants use energy through nuclear power to also make electricity, power plants Hydroelectric plants use water from dams to generate energy from water reservoirs, wind plants use wind energy to move energy generators. All plants have something in common, they need a natural force to turn a turbine connected to a generator and the turbine turns the electrical energy generator.
How does a nuclear power plant work?
We master the strength of radioactive sources: Nuclear energy consists of extracting energy from atoms and as you can imagine this will not be an easy task. The sun is the greatest source of energy on our planet, its strength comes from atoms, science has given us the key to control this energy and its raw material called uranium is an abundant mineral in our country, some atoms in uranium are capable of generating a lot more energy to become nuclear power plant fuel first we have to increase its concentration and we do this by stopping the heavier atoms from the lighter ones, bringing everything together in a small powerful tablet capable of producing the same capacity as the same amount of electricity as 22 full tank trucks of diesel oils. In nuclear plants, the pellets go to the heart of the plant, inside a metallic structure called a Reactor in the clear, the production of electricity begins when a neutron collides and breaks the nucleus of an atom, this reaction produces a lot of heat and releases more neutrons than they will reach other atoms in a large chain reaction generating heat, this heat heats the water that passes through the reactor, and the reactor works like a large pressure cooker. This super hot water heats other water, transforming it into steam that moves the turbines, which in turn turns the energy generator.
This is how a nuclear power plant works.
How does a hydroelectric plant work?
We master the energy of water currents: The energy produced in a hydroelectric plant is as clean and safe as it already exists, the emission of pollutants is very low because the raw material used is practically inexhaustible fuel water, after a careful study so as not to harm the environment the water in the river is dammed by dams, they control the levels of the dam, if it rains a lot, the floodgates open and release the excess water, the dammed water enters with great pressure into a smaller pool and heads towards the turbines, making The turbines are made up of pairs that are held together by a shaft that turns the power generators. You may be wondering, what happens to that water that passes through the turbines? Anything! 100% of it is returned to the river with the same quality as before and can be used for human consumption, industrial processes and even to supply another hydroelectric plant.
This is how a hydroelectric plant works.
How does a wind farm work?
We master the energy of the winds: In the early days of civilization, man learned to obtain energy from the force of the winds. The term wind derives from Greek mythology, eolo was the lord of the winds, the wind is generated by the difference in pressure, the warmer air rises and the air from the highest pressure region moves to occupy the space left by the hot air that rose, this energy is captured by the air generator. Therefore, the force of the wind turns the propellers that turn the turbines that turn the energy generator that produces electrical energy. An aerial generator produces 1.65 Mwh of energy, enough to feed up to 9,000 people with moderate consumption.
This is how a wind farm works.
How does electric current reach my home?
We master electricity: the electric current starts in a local plant where the electric energy is generated, the majority of consumption in Brazil is generated by hydroelectric plants, this energy needs to be high so that there is no loss during the journey from the plant to the point of consumption , for this the electrical energy leaves the plant and passes through the step-up substation before following the transmission lines, these lines are interconnections forming a SIN (National Interconnected System). After being transported through the transmission lines, the energy will still be extra high voltage, it arrives at the transmission substation where its voltage is lowered to the appropriate level for the local concessionaire’s system in the 13,800V region, the energy continues to be transported to the distribution substation, thus the energy is distributed via air or underground 13.8 kV for large industries, shopping malls and large installations and for residential customers the energy goes through another voltage reduction that occurs in the transformers on the overhead or underground poles which lower the voltage to 220v or 110v before reaching homes and to make all this possible, a network of institutions and agents, including ANEEL, NOS and, of course, electricity generation, transmission, distribution and service companies operate along this path.
As soon as electricity arrives at your home.
ASS: Anderson da Silva milk
References
http://www2.aneel.gov.br/arquivos/PDF/atlas_par2_cap3.pdf