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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Turbines are used in the Brayton cycle. Which is by far the most practical heat engine cycle at power plant scales. There are other types of heat engines. Small backup generators (small is relative they are bigger than most cars) use reciprocating diesel engines. There are more exotic engine types like the Sterling and Ericsson engines that are used in very niche use cases. Then there are things like radioisotope thermoelectric generators which use the Seebeck effect of heating dissimilar materials together. You can also get really exotic with things like magneto hydrodynamic generators. Those are just experiments as far as I know though.
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