Nuclear power appears to be a powerful way to make steam that spins a turbine. Same with geothermal, wind, & hydro. Maybe not solar? Isn’t energy lost in the multiple energy conversions (heat, water state, kinetic)? Is it theoretically possible to have a power source that more directly moves electrons through a circuit? If solar is the only one that can, it’s limited in efficiency and where it can be used. What about power generation undersea or on Ganymede or something?
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You’re right that there are only a few unique ways to generate electricity. That I can think of:
* Electro-mechanical: move a magnet along a wire
* Photovoltaic (solar): move electrons using kinetic photon energy from the sun (this is really just massively distant nuclear power)
* Thermoelectric effect : direct conversion of heat to electric current by applying the Seebeck/Peltier effects and Thomson effect
The last one might be new to you, but it is similar to photovoltaic in that it induces electron flow with no moving parts. It works on a similar principle to photovoltaic though, in that it uses semiconductor materials in its construction.
A device that converts heat to electricity in this way is called a thermoelectric generator or TEG. There is even a sub-type of TEG called an radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) that uses the heat generated from nuclear decay to generate electrical power. This type of power source is used in satellites that cannot reliably use lithium-ion batteries & solar panels.
The reason we don’t use thermoelectric generators to power our homes is because of efficiency. TEGs are only about 5-8% efficient. By contrast, steam turbines routinely reach 40%.
So far, our best solution for converting heat energy to electrical energy is through a kinetic intermediary.
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