Friday, September 12, 2014

What types of plants are used for making electricity in dams?

No actual plants are used for making electricity in a dam, at least not what we typically consider to be a plant (containing leaves, stem, fruit, etc.). When we talk about plants in relation to electricity production, we are referring to power plants. 


Hydropower plants or hydroelectric plants are the places in which electricity is made. A dam is made to control the flow of water and to store it in a reservoir for various purposes, such as electricity production, irrigation, and flood control, among others. In brief, the water from the reservoir causes the blades of a turbine to move, which in turn rotates a generator and produces electricity. In this way, water is used for electricity generation and hence the name hydroelectricity. 


Similar to hydropower plants, other commonly used "plants" for electricity generation include thermal power plants (which use coal or natural gas as fuel) and nuclear plants (which use radioactive material, such as uranium, as fuel).


Hope this helps. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thomas Jefferson's election in 1800 is sometimes called the Revolution of 1800. Why could it be described in this way?

Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 can be called the “Revolution of 1800” because it was the first time in America’s short history that pow...