Electricity generation is considered one of the biggest inventions that changed human living, and the evidence for this is that once a malfunction occurs, it causes a power outage. We wonder how people could have lived without electric current in ancient times. Therefore, we decided, dear reader, to take you on a tour through time from the past to the future to learn about the latest inventions in electricity generation and the latest international projects in this field.

Electric power generation in the world

Before talking about what science has recently achieved in the field of electricity generation, we must know more about this type of energy and how it appeared in life and where living without it has become almost impossible.

Discovery of electricity

Man has discovered electricity since ancient times, as the word electricity is derived from the word “ elektros ,” which is the Greek word that gave it what is known as yellow amber, which is a substance whose electrostatic properties were known to the Greeks, but its invention had no scientific or practical value as it remained. It is an experimental observation of natural phenomena related to electricity, such as lightning and static electricity resulting from friction.

Invention of electricity generators

Unlike the discovery of electricity, understanding electrical phenomena is relatively recent, as the first experiments began during the sixteenth century, when the British inventor William Gilbert, also a physicist (1544 – 1603), conducted the first studies on static electricity produced by friction. Then, the first friction-powered electrostatic generator was invented during the 17th century.

After that, scientists and researchers became interested in the issue of electricity, and research became more serious, especially after the invention of the battery in  1785  by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. In  1831  , the Englishman Michael Faraday contributed to the discovery of electromagnetic induction, a physical phenomenon that allows the generation of electric current inside a conductor under the influence of a magnetic field, which gave a qualitative impetus to this field.

Industrial production of electricity

Many inventions and discoveries followed in this field, and by the end of the nineteenth century, industrial production of electricity became possible, especially since several devices that operated with electricity were invented, such as electric motors and lighting. After that, the demand for this type of energy increased, and the production of this energy became a must, which led to the emergence of electricity generation plants, as all available natural resources were used for production, including renewable resources such as wind, sun, and water, and non-renewable resources. Such as oil and gas.

The latest global projects in the field of electricity generation

It is known that there is an increasing demand for electrical energy, which has prompted all countries to seriously consider establishing electricity generation stations and inventions according to the resources available to them. But what are the largest stations producing electrical energy in the world and what type? To answer this question, dear reader, we have taken an inventory of the largest stations according to each type, which are as follows. After that, we move on to the latest inventions in generating electricity:

Three Gorges Dam Station, China

Contrary to what many people think, the top six largest electricity production stations in the world are production stations with renewable energy, not fossil energy, and they all depend on converting water energy into electrical energy. The largest of these stations in terms of production is the Three Gorges station located in the Hubei region in the heart of China. It relies on generating electricity with water energy flowing through a dam using 26 hydraulic generators with a total production capacity equivalent to 22,500 megawatts  .

Jebel Ali Power Generation Complex

This station, located in the United Arab Emirates, ranks first in producing electricity using fossil energies and is the seventh largest station in the world in terms of production capacity, as it uses raw natural gas to generate electricity with a production capacity of approximately 12,900  megawatts .

Guri nuclear plant, South Korea

This station ranked first in the production of electricity by nuclear energy and ranked ninth in the world in terms of production. This happened after  the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station  stopped working following the accident that occurred as a result of an earthquake followed by a tsunami wave that struck its area. This station consists of seven nuclear reactors with a total production capacity of approximately  7,500 megawatts .

Shuaiba station for salt water desalination and electricity generation

This station is considered the largest station for producing electricity using petroleum derivatives and ranks thirteenth in the world in terms of production with a capacity of  6531 megawatts,  and it is headquartered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Jorf Lasfar, Morocco

As for Morocco, the largest electricity production station is the Jorf Lasfar station, which relies on the use of coal energy to convert it into electrical energy. The production capacity of this station is more than 2,000  megawatts . Compared to previous projects, the Nour station project for electrical production by exploiting solar thermal energy located in the Ouarzazate region in the Moroccan desert was classified as the largest station for storing and converting solar energy into electrical energy in 2016 due to  its  importance.

Toytron, the latest invention in generating electricity

The latest scientific findings in the field of electricity generation at the present time is a new invention known as the testosterone. This invention, which was recently developed by Korean scientists and researchers from Hanyang University in South Korea and Americans from the University of Texas in the United States of America, is considered an amazing invention as it has been nominated as the energy of the future, as the latter is a thread capable of generating electricity when twisted or stretched simply and without The need for an external electric battery, fuel or power source. The toistron is made of carbon nanofibers, small, light hollow fibers,  10,000  times smaller in diameter than a hair and capable of generating electricity by sliding over each other and on their own.

The working principle of the Twistron device

To produce electricity with the Twistron system, carbon nanotube fibers must first be immersed in an electrolyte solution, which can be created by adding table salt or acid to water. The fibers will then be charged with ions and once they are pulled, twisted or compressed, the charges will begin to approach and move away with the intensity of the pressure applied to them, which leads to the generation of an electrical current.

Potential Applications of the Twistron System

Today, this technology is still only in the experimental phase, but the initial results indicate a great future for it in producing electricity without traditional engines and generators. Tests have shown that using one testerone is enough to power a high-incandescent lamp. The physical properties of testosterone, such as its light weight and ability to change shape, not only enable it to produce electricity, but can replace batteries.

For example, testosterone can be used to make electrical-generating clothing that can power mobile phones and portable devices using the electricity produced while walking or moving. It can also be used to power some medical devices that are placed in patients’ bodies, such as a pacemaker or a device to stimulate brain cells implanted in patients. Parkinson’s disease.

Results of preliminary experiments

Some preliminary experiments were conducted to give an idea of ​​the amount of electrical energy produced with Twistron technology. The first experiment was to devise a method that consisted of tightening an amount equivalent to about one kilogram of testosterone strings at a frequency of  30 times per second. A power of  250 watts  was generated,  which is enough to operate a small computer or even a small refrigerator. For the second experiment, the researchers sewed a shirt from testosterone thread, and the amazing result was that simple natural breathing allowed the generation of an electrical current for a certain period.

The third experiment took place outside the laboratory in order to study the possibility of using testron to generate electrical energy in a large quantity and without interruption. The researchers spread a testron with a length of  10 centimeters  near the waves and in seawater to replace the electrolytic fluid prepared in the laboratory, and they attached it to a balloon floating above the surface on one side and a piece of lead. To settle at the bottom of the sea on the other hand. The result was that with each surge of the wave, the balloon was pushed away, which led to the wire being stretched by 25%, thus generating electricity. All of these are innovations and experiments that are still constantly being updated.

Contributing to revolutionizing electricity production

The challenge is really serious and big. On the one hand, the world is witnessing a tremendously increasing need for energy production to meet demand, and on the other hand, fossil fuels are constantly decreasing. Moreover, the environmental alarm bell has been ringing for several decades because of the consequences of using this type of fuel in energy production. Serious consequences for the planet Earth, such as pollution and the emission of gases that affect the Earth’s atmosphere and an increase in temperature.

The only solution that can guarantee the production of electrical energy in the required quantity and preserve natural resources and the environment is to rely in the future on the energy mix that combines many energy sources, including fossil energies, nuclear energy and renewable energies, awaiting the awakening and further scientific development or the latest inventions. Clean electricity generation, which may allow total control of nuclear energy production while treating radioactive waste, increasing the yield of electricity production through renewable energy  (Renewable Energy ) and reducing the cost of production to compensate for the use of fossil energy in producing electricity at the long-term level. Pending all of this, the economy and rationalizing electricity consumption remain the most important and most effective measure that can be taken at the present time.

 In this article we have provided a brief overview of the history of electricity generation, including the discovery of electricity, the invention of generators, and the industrial production of electricity. And also some of  the latest global projects in the field of electricity generation  , and we discussed the latest invention in the field of electricity generation, which is ( Twistron ), which is a thread made of carbon nanofibers that can generate electricity by twisting or pulling.