How come we still use steam moving dynamos to convert energy into electricity? It seems antiquated that even something as advanced as nuclear reactors still rely on this process. Are there obstacles in designing a better energy/electricity method?

Question

How come we still use steam moving dynamos to convert energy into electricity? It seems antiquated that even something as advanced as nuclear reactors still rely on this process. Are there obstacles in designing a better energy/electricity method?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

You have to realize that the method depends on the kind of “energy” you’re talking about. Solar panels convert electromagnetic radiation (light) to electricity, hydroelectric dams convert gravity to electricity (via water fall / water pressure), and batteries convert chemical reaction energy to electricity.

And the obstacle is materials. We don’t know of a material that would convert radiation (such as in nuclear reactors) to electricity, and we don’t have a material that efficiently converts heat to electricity ([there are materials](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect#Seebeck_effect) that generate some electricity from heat, but not on the grand scale that we consume).

So, ultimately, boiling water to generate pressure to turn turbines, however inefficient the process, ends up being the best large scale method we have. Convert heat to pressure/motion, then pressure/motion to electricity (using magnets and copper wires).

There’s a lot of chemical energy stored in the stuff that we burn (burning is a chemical reaction), much more than what we can achieve with the chemical reactions in batteries.