A lot of the time, we look at the nitty gritty details of one technology or another in alternative energy. I have wondered what are all the ways we can use to generate power.
The list is remarkably small.
1. Spin a generator.
2. Have sunlight hit photovoltaics.
Wind power, hydro power, coal, nuclear and thermal solar all spin a generator. So in a way, they are all the same technique. A generator is a very simple machine. It is simply some magnets with spinning wire. The generator itself is about 35% efficient. This means that for 100% of the power used, 35% of it get transformed into electricity.
Photovoltaics work by having sunlight excite atoms on a plate thus loosening electrons and creating electricity. Photovoltaics are about 20% efficient.
All electricity is is a bunch of moving electrons. So if someone came up with a different way of getting electron to move, we would have a different way to generate electricity.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
