Production and uses of electricity

Electricity generation

The experiments conducted by Thales using amber rods were the first studies conducted on the process of producing electrical energy. Although this method, now known as the triboelectric effect, is capable of levitating light objects as well as generating sparks, it is completely ineffective. ^[50]  An effective electrical source was not achieved until after the invention of the voltaic battery in the eighteenth century.

This battery, as well as the newer model, the electric battery, stores energy chemically and makes it available for use in the form of electrical energy. The battery is characterized by its versatility and is a common and powerful source of power that can be used in many applications. However, their ability to store energy is limited, and once the stored energy is discharged, the battery must be disposed of or recharged.

For huge needs of electrical energy, it must be generated and converted in large quantities. Electrical power is usually generated by electrokinetic generators driven by steam produced from the combustion of fossil fuels or heat from nuclear reactions. Energy is also generated from other sources, such as kinetic energy extracted from wind or flowing water. These generators are not similar to the generator invented by Faraday in 1831, which was a unipolar generator. But it is still based on his electromagnetic principle that a conductor connected to a changing magnetic field induces a potential difference across its ends.

The invention of the transformer in the late nineteenth century made it possible to generate electricity from central generating stations by taking advantage of economies of scale, and to transmit this electricity across countries with increasing efficiency.

Since it is difficult to store electrical energy in quantities large enough to meet needs at the national level, production should be as much as needed at all times.

This requires that electric utilities be accurate in their forecasts regarding their electrical needs and maintain continuous coordination with power plants. A certain amount of the generation process must be in reserve in order to reduce electrical grid shocks that occur due to unavoidable disturbances and losses. In fact, the demand for electrical energy is increasing very rapidly as the country develops and its economy grows. The United States has revealed that electricity demand increased by 12% each year over the first three decades of the twentieth century, a growth rate that is now being felt in emerging economies, such as India or China.

Historically, the growth rate of demand for electrical energy has been higher than that of other forms of energy. Some environmental concerns regarding electricity generation have led to an increasing focus on generation from renewable sources, especially hydropower and wind power. Although debate continues about the environmental impact of different means of producing energy, the final picture is relatively clean.

Uses

Electricity is a very flexible form of energy, suitable for a large and growing number of uses.

The invention of the incandescent light bulb by Thomas Edison in the 1870s made lighting one of the first available applications of electrical energy. Despite the dangers of electricity, its replacement of open flames for gas-based lighting greatly reduced the risk of fire in homes and factories.

Public facilities have been established in many cities to target the burgeoning electric lighting market. Furthermore, the Joule heating effect used in the light bulb had a direct impact on the field of electrical heating. Although this effect is versatile and manageable, some find it a waste of time; Most electrical generation processes actually require heat production in a power plant. Several countries, such as Denmark, have enacted a law that limits or prohibits the use of electric heating in new buildings.

However, electricity is, to a large extent, a practical energy source that can be used for refrigeration operations, and air conditioning is one of the sectors with high energy needs – requirements that electric utilities are always forced to meet.

Electricity is used for remote communication. In fact, the electric telegraph, invented by William Cook and Charles Whetstone in 1837, was one of the first applications of electricity in this field. With the establishment of the first transcontinental telegraph system, and then across the Atlantic Ocean, in the sixties of the nineteenth century, electricity facilitated the means of communication so that it took only a few minutes in all parts of the world. Although fiber optic technology and satellite communication have taken a share in the communications systems market, electricity is still an essential part of this process. In addition, the effects of electromagnetism are clearly visible in the electric motor, which is a clean and efficient means of generating power. It is easy to provide a power supply to a fixed motor, such as a crane.

Electronic devices use the electrolyzer, which is one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century. It is also a basic building unit that makes up all modern electrical circuits. A modern integrated circuit may contain billions of small transformer devices in an area that does not exceed a few square centimetres.