how exactly is electricity created and why are there so many ways to do it (ie hydro, coal, nuclear,etc)

Question

how exactly is electricity created and why are there so many ways to do it (ie hydro, coal, nuclear,etc)

In: 26

Answer 1

Two ways to make electricity.

1. with chemical reactions (batteries do this)
2. by passing a magnet over a wire (generators do this)

with the first one, you need two chemical reactions. one that produces extra electrons, and one that absorbs electrons. Neither reaction will happen on it’s own, but if you connect those two chemical reactions with a wire, electricity will flow from the electron donor to the electron absorber. a batter is just a container with the ingredients for these chemical reactions packed inside.

with the second one, usually you coil the wire up, and spin a magnet around inside the coil of wire. that’s how electrical generators work. It doesn’t really matter how you get that magnet to spin. you can use a steam engine, a gasoline engine, a water turbine, a person pedaling a bicycle, or a hamster on a wheel.