Glossary
- Ampere (amp)
- Symbol: A<BR> A measure of the current in an electrical circuit.
- Boiler
- A device for generating steam that is used in power production (or for other purposes). Tubes containing hot water are suspended in a furnace in which natural gas, coal, or other fuels are burned. In the tubes, hot water is converted into superheated steam.
- Chlorinated fluorocarbons
- (CFCs) CFCs are sometimes used as refrigerants. They are harmful to elements of the Earth’s atmosphere (the Ozone Layer) that protects us from damaging solar rays.
- Circuit
- The conductors that form a path through which an electrical current may travel.
- Circuit breaker
- A circuit-interrupting switch used to control the electrical current in an electrical system, usually located at a substation.
- Electric power
- Electrical energy that can be converted to other forms of energy, principally mechanical and heat energy, which is then used to do work or provide light.
- Gas turbine
- Typically, a gas turbine consists of an axial-flow compressor which feeds compressed air into a combustion chamber where liquid or gaseous fuel is burned. The resulting hot gases are expanded through the turbine, causing it to rotate. The rotating turbine shaft drives the compressor as well as the generator, to produce electricity.
- Generator
- A machine that converts mechanical energy (movement) into electrical energy.
- Hertz
- Symbol: Hz<BR> A unit of wave frequency equal to one cycle (or reversal) per second.
- Hydro Plant
- Water powered electrical generation.
- Hydro-electricity
- Electricity derived from the movement of falling water.
- Kilowatt
- Symbol: kW<BR> A unit of electrical energy equivalent to 1,000 watts.
- Meter
- A device used to provide an indication of the magnitude of a property of electricity (e.g., current, voltage, or wattage).
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Non-combustible synthetic chemicals, manufactured from 1929 to 1977, used as an insulating material in electrical equipment such as transformers and fluorescent lamp ballasts.
- Steam engine
- A reciprocating mechanical device used to change thermal energy into mechanical (or kinetic) energy.
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