ShmoopTube

00:04

How Power Plants Work, a la Shmoop.

00:07

We've all seen Homer Simpson shuffle off to work at the Springfield power plant...

00:12

...and, of course, he usually bumbles one thing or another, setting off an alarm and

00:17

endangering the lives of a number of Springtonians...

00:20

...but... are power plants really that dangerous? Or does Homer just make them look that way?

00:25

Okay, well first off... Homer works at a nuclear power plant. Those are... a bit scary, yeah.

00:35

Although... even nuclear power plants are much safer than most people think, and rarely

00:39

result in the death, disfigurement or dismemberment of local citizens.

00:44

Unless this guy is at the helm. Or this guy. Chernobyl.

00:48

So... if most power plants aren't those giant cylindrical structures with the atomic symbols on them...

00:53

what do they look like?

00:55

Well... have you ever passed by one of those... fields of giant pinwheels?

01:02

They're not just there for decoration... or to curb the area's pigeon population.

01:08

They are wind turbines, and they are there to produce energy.

01:11

They didn't always look that way, however.

01:17

The AC-generating power plants

01:19

engineered by Nikola Tesla a hundred years ago...

01:29

They were the early versions of our modern plants...

01:31

and they looked like this.

01:33

Not the greatest for those who are trying to cut down on secondhand smoke.

01:45

First, a ton of heat is produced. Like... enough to make the devil perspire.

01:52

The heat is created by burning coal, natural gas or oil... or by splitting a few atoms.

02:00

The heat is then used to boil water to make steam...

02:02

so yeah, it's kind of a giant, underground tea kettle.

02:05

Earl Grey, anyone? Herbal?

02:08

The steam turns a turbine, which moves a huge

02:11

coil of wires around a magnetized center.

02:13

And boom... we've got electricity. Of course... that electricity doesn't do us

02:17

any good unless we can access it...

02:20

...so as the final step in the process, the electricity is sent through a giant transformer...

02:24

not the walking big rig kind...

02:27

...which bumps up the voltage before sending it out into the world.

02:34

Thousands of degrees of heat.  

02:35

Turbines the size of tall buildings.  

02:37

Hundreds of miles of electric lines.  

02:40

All so you can play World of Warcraft for five hours straight.

02:46

You might want to send science a "thank you" card.

Full Transcript