- The prime mover is the big piece of equipment
that converts the energy source into mechanical energy. Here
are some simple examples:
|
Common Name
|
Image
|
Description
|
Category
|
|
Car
Engine
|
|
Everybody
knows what a car engine looks like. Did you know we use bigger
versions of the exact same thing to generate electricity?
|
Reciprocating
Engine
|
| Airplane
Jet Engine |
|
When
you fly on a big plane, the jet ‘engines’ are turbines that
convert the fuel into thrust. We use the same type of equipment
to generate electricity.
|
Gas
Turbine
|
|
Kettle
|
|
Boil
a kettle and the expanding hot water vapour will make it whistle.
For over a hundred years, people have been converting that
energy to make things move.
|
Steam
Turbine
|
|
Waterwheel
|
|
People
have been harnessing the power of flowing water for centuries
to do things like grind flour or pump irrigation water.
|
Water
turbine
|
|
Windmill
|
|
Whether
you picture the kind in Holland or the ones that cowboys rely
upon – both convert wind into usable mechanical energy. We
convert that mechanical energy into electricity with something
that looks very similar.
|
Wind
Turbine
|
We’re going to organize the
prime movers into three categories:
- Internal Combustion,
- External Combustion, and
- Non-Combustion.
Let’s take a look at the differences
in these categories.
|
