EGEE 101
Energy and the Environment

Lesson 2: Fossil Fuels & Nuclear

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Overview

It is not uncommon in the U.S. to assume that electricity will simply always be there when we need it (unless you have an unpaid bill!). The lights go on, the hairdryer blows (and heats), and the cell phone charges – all of it thanks to the people and processes behind the plug. Oh, and lots of fossil fuel and increasingly more renewable energy. For most of these processes that use heat, the steam generated is what is doing the work (spinning the generator). Please watch the following (2:08) video on steam generation.

The technology upon which powered much of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Click here for a transcript.

[Dr. Mathews is standing at a table with a miniature steam engine.] Dr. Mathews: Well, I thought I would show you a very simple system for producing electricity. This is a little steam boiler. We are going to produce steam to power a steam piston that is going to reciprocate, spin the flywheel, and that is going to produce an electric current. That is what we are starting to talk about today. Electricity and the production of electricity from mostly steam. Then, we will start talking about other renewable energy types. But the bottom line is, what we are trying to do is spin a generator quite quickly to produce electricity.

Credit: JPM

This lesson is about all the things that happen before your electricity gets to you - how it is generated. These processes are connected to efficiency, conservation, and pollution (emissions).

Lesson Objectives

Your success in lessons 02  will be based on mastering the following objectives;

  • Describing how electricity is generated from: coal, natural gas, and nuclear approaches
  • Link energy generation with pollution
  • Identify the advantages and disadvantages of electricity generation for each approach
  • Know how the electricity demand profile changes and how it is met

Enjoy your trip "Behind the Plug" in Lessons 2 and 3 (remewables)!  

Wake Up Your Brain