Power+People

=__Energy Sources__= ===An energy source is a way to produce electricity or energy.There are many ways to produce electricity.We use electricity to power everything from the lights in our house to ipods and ipads. Some of the renewable ways to produce energy include hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, and wind energy.===

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===Hydroelectric energy creates electricity from water's force to turn turbines. But water's force can be used in many ways to turn turbines. One of the ways is to install a turbine in a strong rapid/river/ocean and use the water currents there to turn turbines that power generators and produce electricity. Another way to produce hydroelectric power is called the Conventional method and this is how it works. You need to dam an area of water and have a pipe go through the dam leading to a turbine which powers a generator which creates electricity.===

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===Geothermal energy is very interesting. Geothermal energy happens when you install a pipe deep in earths crust where the rocks are hot and fill it with water. Than the water turns to steam from all the heat and the small pipe causes pressure which causes the steam to shoot upwards and turn turbines quickly and later it cools down, turns back to water and the cycle starts all over again.=== === ===

===Solar energy is basic and easy to understand but you need to be precise. Solar energy is made when the sun's heat bounces off very carefully and precise angled panels. The panels are angled so that all the heat is focused on a pipe that holds water which turns to steam and all the pressure of the small pipe causes all the steam to shoot directly at a turbine and spins it to power generators that send the electricity to our homes. But that is not the only way to produce electricity by using the sun. Usually when the sun hits an object that object turns warm like when you sit in the sun and start feeling its warmth. But when the sun hits specific types of material the warmth turns into an electrical current instead which we can harness and create electricity in yet __//another//__ way. But why does the sun make electric currents? Old solar technology uses crystals of silicon. The electrons in the crystal move to a different atom when exposed to heat. When one moves it forces the electron that was there before it to move so that electron moves to a different atom and pushes another electron put and so forth. All of that process eventually makes all the electrons move in a constant flow and when electrons are moving they make electric currents which we harness and use in everyday life. But today we use cheaper, more modern technology instead of silicon. It is not better but much cheaper.===

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===Nuclear energy can be very powerful but then again very dangerous. Nuclear energy is the energy in the center of an atom or a nucleus. To make nuclear power you must follow a process called fission. In that process you split atoms and the energy released can be used to generate electricity in power plants. Atoms of Uranium, a common element that can be found under Earth's surface, are used in nuclear reaction. In fission a tiny particle called a neutron hits a uranium atom, the atom splits open releasing more neutrons and all of those neutrons split other atoms and making a branch reaction. That whole process creates a huge amounts of heat to heat water to turn to steam to turn a turbine.===

[|Nuclear Reactor Design]A diagram of a nuclear power plant.

[|Nuclear Power - How it Works]
A good 7 min. video explaining nuclear power.

What is nuclear energy
A cool simulation that will help you understand this better. = = = = =**__//Wind//__** __Energy__= =visit Our //Wind// Glogg= = = ===Wind energy is in my opinion a very good choice for a power plant. It is created by wind turbines with blades that are specifically shaped to catch the wind. The wind blows the blade which a gear is connected to. That gear turns another gear which turns a turbine. That turbine has magnets attached to it. A coil of wire is placed around the turbine. The magnets in the turbine make the electrons move, therefore making electricity.===

media type="file" key="Wind PowerPoint Movie 2.mov" width="362" height="362" align="center"

Watch the movie, or, download the PowerPoint, here:

These are some of the advantages of wind energy:

 * Wind farms create a lot of electricity.


 * Wind mills do not create pollution (which is good because we already have too much pollution)


 * Wind energy is free and it is also renewable.


 * Wind can blow strongly all year long however sunlight is only strong in summer and spring.

These are some of the disadvantages of wind energy:

 * People usually don't want to live near wind turbines.


 * The wind speed must be above 12 miles per hour for a wind turbine to work.

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[|Wind Turbines - How does it actually work? Investment?]
=__References__= [|www.alternative-energy-news.info]

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[|www.renewablepowernews.com]

[|rge360.com]

[|www.hk-phy.org]

[|www.forteachersforstudents.com.au]

[|en.wikipedia.org]

[|solar-energy-systems.regionaldirectory.us]

[|opgvideos]

[|AlternativeInvestor]

[|www.45nuclearplants.com]