Converting Coal into Electricity ~ All About Coal ~ American Coal Foundation - 1 views
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The coal powder mixes with hot air, which helps the coal burn more efficiently, and the mixture moves to the furnace. The burning coal heats water in a boiler, creating steam. Steam released from the boiler powers an engine called a turbine, transforming heat energy from burning coal into mechanical energy that spins the turbine engine. The spinning turbine is used to power a generator, a machine that turns mechanical energy into electric energy. This happens when magnets inside a copper coil in the generator spin.
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Electricity-generating plants send out electricity using a transformer, which increases the voltage of the electricity based on the amount required and the distance it must travel. Voltages are often as high as 500,000 volts at this point. Electricity flows along transmission lines to substation transformers. These transformers reduce the voltage for use in the local areas to be served. From the substation transformers, electricity travels along distribution lines, which can be either above or below the ground, to cities and towns. Transformers once again reduce the voltage—this time to about 120 to 140 volts—for safe use inside homes and businesses. The delivery process is instantaneous. By the time you have flipped a switch to turn on a light, electricity has been delivered.