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Electricity is the most useful form of Power …
This site is dedicated to providing useful information about electrical power and power conversion.
There are sections with articles about Solar Power, Wind Power and Power Supplies (or electrical Converters).
Click on a navigation category tab – Solar Power, Wind Power, Power Supplies or Articles to find what interests you most.
This articles is general discussion about forms of power.
Electrical Power needs to first be converted from another form of energy – such as wind, water, heat or light.
The first law of thermodynamics states that ‘energy may neither be created nor destroyed’ and most of our energy sources on Earth originate from our sun – our main source of Solar Energy today.
Some solar sources have been stored for centuries or millenia in forms such as fossil fuels – oil and coal.
Renewable Energy sources also come from the sun and earths orbital movement – wind, wave and solar.
Nuclear Energy sources were locked into the nuclei of elements suitable for nuclear fission or fusion were born from the ‘big bang’ at the birth of the universe.
Electricity is generated by the rotational movement of copper wires through strong magnetic fields. This rotational movement can be created using energy from a Windmill, a Steam Turbine or a petrol / Diesel Engine – or using some clever mechanical system to make use of wave power.
Batteries and Capacitors are able to store Electrical Energy – but only in tiny amounts compared to the amount distributed by National Grids. One pactical storage method has been to pump large volumes of water uphill into storage reservoirs then use water turbines to convert the energy back to electricity when it is needed again.