Power transmission
Encyclopedia
Power transmission is the movement of energy
from its place of generation to a location where it is applied to performing useful work
.
Power
is defined formally as units of energy
per unit time
. In SI
units:
Since the development of technology
, transmission
and storage systems have been of immense interest to technologists and technology
users.
With the widespread establishment of power grids, power transmission is usually associated most with electric power transmission
. Alternating current
is normally preferred as its voltage may be easily stepped up by a transformer
in order to minimize resistive
loss in the conductors used to transmit power over great distances; another set of transformers is required to step it back down to safer or more usable voltage levels at destination.
Power transmission is usually performed with overhead line
s as this is the most economical way to do so. Underground transmission by high voltage cable
s is chosen in crowded urban areas and in HVDC submarine connections.
s or by radio waves
; microwave
energy may be carried efficiently over short distances by a waveguide
.
Electrical power transmission has replaced mechanical power transmission in all but the very shortest distances. From the 16th century through the industrial revolution
to the end of the 19th century mechanical power transmission was the norm. The oldest long-distance power transmission technology involved systems of push-rods (stängenkunst or feldstängen) connecting waterwheels to distant mine-drainage and brine-well pumps. A surviving example from 1780 exists at Bad Kösen
that transmits power approximately 200 meters from a waterwheel to a salt well, and from there, an additional 150 meters to a brine evaporator. This technology survived into the 21st century in a handful of oilfields in the US, transmitting power from a central pumping engine to the numerous pump-jacks in the oil field.
Factories were fitted with overhead line shaft
s providing rotary power. Short line-shaft systems were described by Agricola
, connecting a waterwheel to numerous ore-processing machines. While the machines described by Agricola used geared connections from the shafts to the machinery, by the 19th century, drivebelts
would become the norm for linking individual machines to the line shafts. One mid 19th century factory had 1,948 feet of line shafting with 541 pulleys.
Mechanical power may be transmitted directly using a solid structure such as a driveshaft
; transmission
gear
s can adjust the amount of torque
or force
vs. speed
in much the same way an electrical transformer adjusts voltage
vs current.
Hydraulic systems use liquid under pressure to transmit power; canals and hydroelectric power generation facilities harness natural water power to lift ships or generate electricity. Pumping water or pushing mass uphill with (windmill
pumps) is one possible means of energy storage. London
had a hydraulic network
powered by five pumping station
s operated by the London Hydraulic Power Company
, with a total effect of 5 MW.
Pneumatic systems use gasses under pressure to transmit power; compressed air
is commonly used to operate pneumatic tool
s in factories and repair garages. A pneumatic wrench (for instance) is used to remove and install automotive tires far more quickly than could be done with standard manual hand tools.
A pneumatic system was proposed by proponents of Edison's
direct current
as the basis of the power grid. Compressed air generated at Niagara Falls
would drive far away generators of DC power. The War of Currents
ended with alternating current
(AC) as the only means of long distance power transmission.
fuel
s. Possible artificial fuels include radioactive isotopes, wood alcohol
, grain alcohol
, methane
, synthetic gas, hydrogen
gas (H2), cryogenic gas
, and liquefied natural gas
(LNG).
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
from its place of generation to a location where it is applied to performing useful work
Mechanical work
In physics, work is a scalar quantity that can be described as the product of a force times the distance through which it acts, and it is called the work of the force. Only the component of a force in the direction of the movement of its point of application does work...
.
Power
Power (physics)
In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
is defined formally as units of energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
per unit time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
. In SI
Si
Si, si, or SI may refer to :- Measurement, mathematics and science :* International System of Units , the modern international standard version of the metric system...
units:
Since the development of technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, transmission
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
and storage systems have been of immense interest to technologists and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
users.
Electrical power
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
. Alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
is normally preferred as its voltage may be easily stepped up by a transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
in order to minimize resistive
Electrical resistance
The electrical resistance of an electrical element is the opposition to the passage of an electric current through that element; the inverse quantity is electrical conductance, the ease at which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallels with the mechanical...
loss in the conductors used to transmit power over great distances; another set of transformers is required to step it back down to safer or more usable voltage levels at destination.
Power transmission is usually performed with overhead line
Overhead power line
An overhead power line is an electric power transmission line suspended by towers or utility poles. Since most of the insulation is provided by air, overhead power lines are generally the lowest-cost method of transmission for large quantities of electric energy...
s as this is the most economical way to do so. Underground transmission by high voltage cable
High voltage cable
A high voltage cable - also called HV cable - is used for electric power transmission at high voltage. High voltage cables of differing types have a variety of applications in instruments, ignition systems, AC and DC power transmission...
s is chosen in crowded urban areas and in HVDC submarine connections.
Wireless transmission
Power might also be transmitted by changing electromagnetic fieldElectromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field is a physical field produced by moving electrically charged objects. It affects the behavior of charged objects in the vicinity of the field. The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the electromagnetic interaction...
s or by radio waves
Radio waves
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 100 kilometers. Like all other electromagnetic waves,...
; microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
energy may be carried efficiently over short distances by a waveguide
Waveguide
A waveguide is a structure which guides waves, such as electromagnetic waves or sound waves. There are different types of waveguides for each type of wave...
.
Mechanical power
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
to the end of the 19th century mechanical power transmission was the norm. The oldest long-distance power transmission technology involved systems of push-rods (stängenkunst or feldstängen) connecting waterwheels to distant mine-drainage and brine-well pumps. A surviving example from 1780 exists at Bad Kösen
Bad Kösen
' is a spa town in Germany, on the Saale river in the small German wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut. It is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt...
that transmits power approximately 200 meters from a waterwheel to a salt well, and from there, an additional 150 meters to a brine evaporator. This technology survived into the 21st century in a handful of oilfields in the US, transmitting power from a central pumping engine to the numerous pump-jacks in the oil field.
Factories were fitted with overhead line shaft
Line shaft
A line shaft is a power transmission system used extensively during the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the widespread use of electric motors small enough to be connected directly to each piece of machinery, line shafting was used to distribute power from a large central power source to machinery...
s providing rotary power. Short line-shaft systems were described by Agricola
Georg Agricola
Georgius Agricola was a German scholar and scientist. Known as "the father of mineralogy", he was born at Glauchau in Saxony. His real name was Georg Pawer; Agricola is the Latinised version of his name, Pawer meaning "farmer"...
, connecting a waterwheel to numerous ore-processing machines. While the machines described by Agricola used geared connections from the shafts to the machinery, by the 19th century, drivebelts
Belt (mechanical)
A belt is a loop of flexible material used to link two or more rotating shafts mechanically. Belts may be used as a source of motion, to transmit power efficiently, or to track relative movement. Belts are looped over pulleys. In a two pulley system, the belt can either drive the pulleys in the...
would become the norm for linking individual machines to the line shafts. One mid 19th century factory had 1,948 feet of line shafting with 541 pulleys.
Mechanical power may be transmitted directly using a solid structure such as a driveshaft
Driveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, propeller shaft, or Cardan shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement...
; transmission
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
gear
Gear
A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
s can adjust the amount of torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
or force
Force
In physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. In other words, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform...
vs. speed
Speed
In kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance traveled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as...
in much the same way an electrical transformer adjusts voltage
Voltage
Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...
vs current.
Hydraulic systems use liquid under pressure to transmit power; canals and hydroelectric power generation facilities harness natural water power to lift ships or generate electricity. Pumping water or pushing mass uphill with (windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
pumps) is one possible means of energy storage. London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
had a hydraulic network
Hydraulic network
A hydraulic power network is a system of interconnected pipes carrying pressurized liquid used to transmit mechanical power from a power source, like a pump, to hydraulic equipment like lifts or motors. The system is analogous to an electrical grid transmitting power from a generating station to...
powered by five pumping station
Pumping station
Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, such as the supply of water to canals, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of sewage to processing sites.A pumping station...
s operated by the London Hydraulic Power Company
London Hydraulic Power Company
The London Hydraulic Power Company was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1883 to install a hydraulic power network of high-pressure cast iron water mains under London. It was the successor to the Steam Wharf and Warehouse Company, founded in 1871 by Edward B Ellington...
, with a total effect of 5 MW.
Pneumatic systems use gasses under pressure to transmit power; compressed air
Pneumatics
Pneumatics is a branch of technology, which deals with the study and application of use of pressurized gas to effect mechanical motion.Pneumatic systems are extensively used in industry, where factories are commonly plumbed with compressed air or compressed inert gases...
is commonly used to operate pneumatic tool
Tool
A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
s in factories and repair garages. A pneumatic wrench (for instance) is used to remove and install automotive tires far more quickly than could be done with standard manual hand tools.
A pneumatic system was proposed by proponents of Edison's
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
as the basis of the power grid. Compressed air generated at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
would drive far away generators of DC power. The War of Currents
War of Currents
In the "War of Currents" era in the late 1880s, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison became adversaries due to Edison's promotion of direct current for electric power distribution over alternating current advocated by several European companies and Westinghouse Electric based out of Pittsburgh,...
ended with alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
(AC) as the only means of long distance power transmission.
Chemicals and fuels
Power (and energy) may be transmitted by physically transporting chemical or nuclearNuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
s. Possible artificial fuels include radioactive isotopes, wood alcohol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
, grain alcohol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
, methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
, synthetic gas, hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
gas (H2), cryogenic gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
, and liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....
(LNG).