Book 22, Question 101
How Does a Power Plant Make Electricity for a Whole Town?
A power plant makes electricity for a whole town. The secret is a spinning machine. Remember, a big power plant can make enough electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes.
More fun facts
- Most of the world's electricity comes from generators based on a discovery Michael Faraday made in 1831.
- Faraday found that moving a magnet inside a coil of wire makes electricity flow in the wire.
- A generator turns the energy of motion into electrical energy.
- Many power plants burn fuel to make steam, and the steam spins a turbine.
- The spinning turbine turns the generator.
- The electricity then travels from the power plant to homes along power lines.
Questions kids ask
What was the first generator?
Michael Faraday built the first one, called the Faraday disk.