Waterpower, power derived from the fall of water from a higher to a lower level, and extracted by means of waterwheels or hydraulic turbines (see Turbine). Waterpower is a natural resource, available wherever a sufficient volume of steady water flow exists. The development of waterpower today requires extensive construction, including storage lakes, dams, bypass canals, and the installation of large turbines and electric generating equipment. Because the development of hydroelectric power requires a large capital investment, it is often uneconomical for a region where coal or oil is cheap, even though the cost of fuel for a steam-powered generating plant is higher than the cost of running a hydroelectric plant. However, increasing environmental concerns are focusing attention on renewable energy sources.
Hydroelectric power generation was made more efficient by the establishment of the Federal Power Commission in 1920. Although additional hydroelectric plants were being built, the simultaneous development of larger and more cost-efficient steam-power plants made it obvious that only very large and costly hydroelectric installations could compete effectively, and that the federal government would have to assume a major share in their construction. Motivated by the search for the multiple use of water resources, including navigation, flood control, and irrigation, in addition to power production, the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, started government participation in large-scale waterpower development in 1933.
Most major installations depend on a large water-storage reservoir upstream of the dam where water flow can be controlled and a nearly constant water level can be assured. In contrast to storage-type plants, which depend on the ...
Space Travel. It is a sense of national pride for many Americans. If you ask anyone who was alive at the time, they could probably tell you exactly where they were when they heard that Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the Moon. But all of the success in our space programs is overshadowed by tragedy. On January 28, 1986, one of the...
In 1931 at the University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station M. C. Smith, E. M. Lantz, and H. V. Smith discovered that when given drinking water supplied with fluorine, rats would develop tooth defects. Further testing by H. T. Dean and E. Elove of the United States Public Health Service confirmed this report, and stated that what is known...
Cancer Information: Larynx Cancer Larynx cancer is a cancer that effects the larynx, or voice box, in people; it can also be called laryngeal cancer. The cancer occurs most frequently in people over the age of fifty-four and in black males. The larynx is approximately two inches long and is located below the nose passage way and above the trache...
Thesis: Large corporations, such as insurance companies, and governments are looking to save money on future policyholders through the use of genetic testing. General information on the Time of discussion leading up to implementation Who was involved Where does the funding come from Insurance Companies and discrimination Discrimination against u...
Super conductivity General properties Observations regarding Applications 'O Super conductor are the material having almost zero resistivity and behave as diamagnetic below the super conducting transition temperature.'O Super conductors are PERFECT conductors. 'O Virtually zero electrical resistance.'O Perfect diamagnetic property.'O Critic...