Mechanical to Electrical Energy Did you know that wind, wave, hydro, and steam power (source) all generate electrical energy from mechanical energy. How: by using a physics principle called electromagne1c induc1on. The word induc@on comes from induce, which means to make something happen. So, electromagne1c induc1on means to make something electromagne@c happen. Electromagne1c Induc1on Whenever a wire that is able to conduct electrons moves through a magne@c field, the force of the magne@c field makes the electrons in the wire move. This movement, or flow of charged par@cles such as electrons, is what we call electricity. * The same thing happens if the coil wire is held s@ll and the magne1c force lines move through it; the only requirement is that the lines of magne@c force and the wire move rela@ve to one another. ** ** http://windturbinesforthehome.org/
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* http://img101.imageshack.us/i/coil2sm.jpg/sr=1
Wind Turbine What: A wind turbine is a machine that turns wind energy into the mechanical energy of rota@ng blades. The machine that transforms wind energy into mechanical energy of rota@on is called a turbine. How: How is the mechanical energy of the turbine transformed into electrical energy.? To do that, we aJach a machine called a generator in the nacelle of the turbine. Generator: A generator is very simple. It has a shaL with coils of wire wrapped around it. The shaL is aJached to the center point of the rotor. When the blades rotate, the shaL also rotates. So when the wind blows, the turbine blades make the shaL of the generator spin. Energy Transforma1on: Now, what do we need to add to convert the mechanical energy of our spinning shaL to electric energy? Remember, the shaL has conduc@ng wire wrapped around it! The principle of electromagne1c induc1on means that all we have to add to complete our generator is a ______? Answer: Magnet. The shaL spins through a magne@c field, inducing the flow of current. So, a generator is something that transforms mechanical energy to electrical energy. Adapted from the Kukulu Na Uapo Physcial Science Curriculum