Stingray treatment
Once in ancient Rome, the son of a wealthy architect and aspiring doctor, Claudius Galen was walking along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. And then a very strange sight appeared before his eyes - two residents of nearby villages were walking towards him, with electric ramps tied to their heads! This is how history describes the first case known to us of the use of physiotherapy with the help of living electricity. The method was noted by Galen, and in such an unusual way he saved from pain after the wounds of gladiators, and even healed the sore back of the emperor Mark Antony himself, who shortly thereafter appointed him personal physician.
After that, a person more than once encountered the inexplicable phenomenon of “living electricity”. And the experience has not always been positive. So, once, in the era of great geographical discoveries, off the coast of the Amazon, Europeans encountered local electric eels that generated electrical voltage in the water up to 550 volts. Woe was to the one who accidentally fell into the three-meter zone of destruction.
What is an electrical system
From a general point of view, an electrical power system is usually understood as a very large network that links power plants (large or small) to loads via an electrical network that can span an entire continent such as Europe or North America.
The structure of electrical power systems that you MUST fully understand (photo: Carla Wosniak via Flickr)
Thus, the power system typically extends from the power plant right up to the sockets inside the customers' premises. They are sometimes referred to as full power systems because they are self-contained.
Smaller energy systems can be made from parts or sections of a larger, complete system. Figure 1 shows several elements that work together and are connected to the mains.
The subsystem shown in Figure 1(a) may be one of the end users of the electrical energy of the full power system. The subsystem shown in Figure 1(b) may be one of the small power plants operating as distributed generation (DG). Most of these power systems only operate when connected to a full power system.
Power supply systems that are supplied by an external source of electricity or that produce (by conversion from other sources) electricity and transfer it to a large grid are called partial energy systems.
Figure 1 (a, b) - Special purpose power subsystems
The power systems of interest for our purposes are large scale full scale power systems that span long distances and have been deployed over decades by power companies.
Generation is the production of electricity in power plants or generating units where a form of primary energy is converted into electricity. Transmission is a network that moves power from one part of a country or region to another. This is usually a well-interconnected infrastructure, with multiple transmission lines connecting different substations that change voltage levels, offering improved redundancy.
Distribution finally provides power (one might say locally compared to the transmission system) to the final loads (most of which are supplied at low voltage) through intermediate steps in which the voltage is down-converted (converted) to lower levels.
There are parts of the world where industry deregulation and privatization have already completely changed the industrial landscape, while other challenges remain to be seen.
How many watts do we produce
Human energy as an alternative source of nutrition has long ceased to be a fantasy dream. People have great prospects as generators of electricity, it can be generated from almost any of our actions. So, you can get 1 W from one breath, and a calm step is enough to power a 60 W light bulb, and it will be enough to charge the phone. So the problem with resources and alternative energy sources, a person can literally solve himself.
The point is small - to learn how to transfer the energy that we waste so uselessly, "where necessary." And researchers already have proposals in this regard. Thus, the effect of piezoelectricity, which creates stress from mechanical action, is being actively studied. Based on it, back in 2011, Australian scientists proposed a computer model that would be charged by pressing keys. In Korea, they are developing a phone that will be charged by conversations, that is, from sound waves, and a group of scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology has created a working prototype of a zinc oxide “nanogenerator” that is implanted in the human body and generates current from our every movement.
But that's not all, in order to help solar panels in some cities they are going to receive energy from rush hour, more precisely from vibrations when walking pedestrians and cars, and then use it to illuminate the city. This idea was proposed by London-based architects from Facility Architects. According to them: “During peak hours, 34,000 people pass through Victoria Station in 60 minutes. It does not take a mathematical genius to understand that if this energy can be applied, it can actually be a very useful source of energy, which is currently being wasted. By the way, the Japanese are already using turnstiles in the Tokyo subway for this, through which hundreds of thousands of people pass every day. Still, railways are the main transport arteries of the Land of the Rising Sun.
Russia coverage
Russian scientists have made a huge practical contribution to the history of the development of electricity, starting with M. V. Lomonosov. Many of their ideas were borrowed by European colleagues, however, in terms of introducing inventions into practical work for the benefit of people, Russia has always been ahead of other countries.
For example, already in 1879, the lamps of the lanterns on the Liteiny Bridge were replaced with electric ones, which was a progressive and bold decision for that time. In 1880, a department for the electrification of urban areas was opened at the Russian Technical Society. Tsarskoye Selo was the first settlement in the world to introduce widespread lighting in the evening and at night, in 1881.
In the spring of 1883, a power plant was built on Sofiyskaya Embankment and the festive lighting of the city center was successfully held, timed to coincide with the coronation ceremony of the new emperor, Alexander III.
In the same year, the center of St. Petersburg and its heart, the Winter Palace, were fully electrified. A small department at a technical society grew in a couple of years into the Electric Lighting Association of the Russian Empire, through the efforts of which a lot of work was carried out to install lamps on the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg, including remote areas. In just two years, power plants will be built throughout the country, and the population of Russia will finally embark on the path of progress.
Distribution systems
The distribution segment is widely recognized as the most complex part of the smart grid due to its ubiquity. Voltage levels of 132 (110 in some places) or 66 kV are common HV levels found in (European) distribution networks. Voltages below this (eg 30, 20, 10 kV) are commonly found in MV distribution networks.
Distribution levels below 1 kV are within the so-called LV or Low Voltage range.
MV mesh topologies can be classified into three groups:
Radial topology
Radial lines are used to connect primary substations (PS) with and among secondary substations (SS). These MV lines or "feeders" may be used exclusively for one SS or may be used to reach several of them. Radial systems maintain central control of all SSs.
Figure 4 - Radial feed system
Ring topology
This is a fault-tolerant topology to overcome the weakness of the radial topology when one MV line element is disconnected, which interrupts the operation of electricity (outage) in the remaining connected substations. The ring topology is an improved evolution of the radial topology, connecting substations to other MV lines to create redundancy.
Regardless of the physical configuration, the grid operates radially, but in the event of a feeder failure, other elements maneuver to reconfigure the grid in a way that avoids failure.
Figure 5 - Scheme of the ring bus
Network topology
The network topology consists of primary and secondary substations connected via multiple MV lines to provide multiple distribution alternatives. Thus, there are several reconfiguration options to overcome failures, and in case of failure, alternative solutions can be found to redirect electricity.
LV distribution systems can be single phase or three phase. For example, in Europe they are typically 230V/400V three-phase systems (i.e. each phase has 230V RMS and 400V RMS between two phases).
LV networks present more complex and heterogeneous topologies than MV networks. The exact topology of LV systems depends on the extension and features of the service area, the type, number and density of supply points (loads), country-specific and operating procedures, as well as a number of options in international standards.
Figure 6 - Network distribution system
The SS usually supplies power to one or more LV lines with one or more MV-to-LV transformers in the same run. The local LV topology is usually radial, with multiple branches that connect to extended feeders, but there are also instances of network networks and even ring or double-case configurations in LV networks.
LV lines are generally shorter than MV lines and their performance varies by service area.
Reference // Telecommunication Networks for Smart Grid by Alberto Sendin (Purchasing Hardcover from Amazon)
Power generation
Power plants convert the energy contained in fuels (mainly coal, oil, natural gas, enriched uranium) or renewable energy sources (water, wind, solar energy) into electrical energy.
Conventional modern generators produce electricity at a frequency that is a multiple of the speed of rotation of the machine. The voltage usually does not exceed 6-40 kV. The power output is determined by the amount of steam driving the turbine, which is mainly dependent on the boiler. The voltage of this power is determined by the current in the rotating winding (i.e. the rotor) of the synchronous generator.
The output is taken from the fixed winding (i.e. the stator). The voltage is amplified by a transformer, usually to a much higher voltage. At this high voltage, the generator is connected to the grid in the substation.
Figure 2 - 472 megawatt steam turbine and generator (STG) for Allen Combined Cycle Power Plant (photo credit: businesswire.com)
Traditional power plants generate AC power from synchronous generators that provide three phase electrical power so that the voltage source is a combination of three AC voltage sources derived from a generator with their respective phase voltages separated by 120° phase angles.
Wind turbines and mini-hydro units typically use asynchronous generators, in which the generated voltage signal is not necessarily synchronized with the rotation of the generator.
DG refers to the generation that connects to the distribution system, unlike conventional centralized power generation systems.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has defined distributed generation as "the use of small (0 to 5 MW), modular power generation technologies distributed throughout a utility distribution system to reduce T/D loading or load growth and thereby delay T&A upgrades." D, reduce system losses, improve quality and reliability. »
Small generators are constantly being improved in terms of cost and efficiency, getting closer to the operation of large power plants.
1 Energy and its types
Energy
(from Greek energeie
- action, activity) represents
is a general quantitative measure of movement
and interactions of all kinds of matter.
It is the ability to do work, and
work is done when
object acting physical force
(pressure or gravity). Work—
it is energy in action.
In all
mechanisms when doing work, energy
passes from one type to another. But
it is impossible to obtain the energy of one
species more than another, for any of its
transformations, since this contradicts
the law of conservation of energy.
There are the following
types of energy: mechanical; electric;
thermal; magnetic; atomic.
Electrical
energy is one of the perfect
types of energy. Its widespread use
due to the following factors:
- receiving in
large quantities near the deposit
resources and water sources;
- opportunity
transportation over long distances
with relatively small losses;
- ability
transformations into other types of energy:
mechanical, chemical, thermal,
light;
- lack
environmental pollution;
— implementation on
basis of electricity fundamentally
new progressive technological
processes with a high degree of automation.
Thermal
energy is widely used in modern
production and in everyday life in the form of energy
steam, hot water, combustion products
fuel.
transformation
primary energy into secondary energy
in particular, in electrical, carried out
at stations that in their name
contain indications of what kind
primary energy is converted to them
to electrical:
— on thermal electric
stations (TPP) - thermal;
– hydroelectric power plants
(HPP) - mechanical (energy of motion
water);
- hydroaccumulating
stations (PSPP) - mechanical (energy
movements pre-filled
in an artificial reservoir of water);
- nuclear
power plants (NPP) - nuclear (energy
nuclear fuel);
- tidal
power plants (PES) - tides.
In the Republic
Belarus more than 95% of energy is generated
at thermal power plants, which are divided by purpose
into two types:
— condensing
thermal power plants (CES),
intended for production only
electrical energy;
— combined heat and power plants
(CHP) where
combined production of electrical
and thermal energy.
Create an energy tracker
It is best and most effective to create such a tracker for at least a week on one turn of the diary, so that the cell-cell for each specific day is large enough and can accommodate several points at different levels - from an energy decline to an energy rise, because these drops can happen several times during the day. If there are no strong drops, then you can check in the tracker only once a day.
Energy levels can be arranged in different ways. It is most convenient to do three points at different levels: energy rise, balance (no drops), energy decline. During the day, it is necessary to note if there are ups and downs and if the reason is clearly defined, write it down near the point.
Energy levels can change very quickly: a meeting with a pleasant or unpleasant person, a meeting with a manipulator (and you didn’t suspect that he was a manipulator until you started the tracker), a delicious breakfast or a tiring traffic jam, your favorite song on the radio or an annual report on work, and so on, and so on ...
Most often, we are not even aware of what exactly caused the energy decline or rise. That is why sharp drops should be noted in order to analyze them later and strive exclusively for what gives energy, and avoid what takes it away. Of course, you will not always be able to get away from family or work affairs, but you can always come up with a way to make the process easier, make it more interesting and easier, delegate some of the responsibilities, and so on.
In addition, it is very important to keep an energy tracker in conjunction with trackers for sleep, nutrition, thoughts, mood, finances, physical activity and a general habit tracker. Then it will be easier for you to find the dependence of energy fluctuations on the events of your life.
Transmission systems
Power from generator sets is transferred first through transmission systems, which consist of transmission lines that carry electricity at various voltage levels. The transmission system corresponds to a network grid topological infrastructure connecting generation and substations together in a grid, which is usually defined at 100 kV or more.
Figure 3 - Electrical system
Electricity flows through high-voltage (high voltage) transmission lines to a number of substations, where the voltage goes to transformers to levels appropriate for distribution systems.
AC voltage levels
Preferred RMS voltage levels in IEC 60038:2009 are in line with international standards:
- 362 kV or 420 kV; 420 kV or 550 kV; 800 kV; 1, 100kV or 1200kV for three-phase systems with the highest voltage for equipment exceeding 245kV.
- 66 (alternatively, 69) kV; 110 (alternatively, 115) kV or 132 (alternatively, 138) kV; 220 (alternatively, 230) kV for three-phase systems with a rated voltage above 35 kV and not more than 230 kV.
- 11 (alternatively, 10) kV; 22 (alternatively, 20) kV; 33 (alternatively, 30) kV or 35 kV for three-phase systems with a rated voltage above 1 kV and not more than 35 kV. There is a separate set of values specific to North American practice.
In the case of systems with nominal voltages between 100 and 1000 V inclusive, 230/400 V is standard for three-phase four-wire systems (50 Hz or 60 Hz), and 120/208 V for 60 Hz. For three-wire systems, 230 V between phases is standard for 50 Hz and 240 V for 60 Hz. For single-phase, three-wire systems at 60 Hz, 120/240 V is standard.
Medium voltage (MV) as a concept is not used in some countries (e.g. the United Kingdom and Australia), it is "any set of voltage levels lying between low and high voltage" and the problem is that the actual boundary between MV levels and HV depend on local practices.
Power lines are deployed with three wires along with a ground wire. Virtually all AC transmission systems are three-phase transmission systems.
The composition of the invisible stream
From the point of view of physics, the very possibility of the emergence of electricity comes from the ability of physical matter to accumulate and store an electric charge. An energy field is formed around these accumulators.
The action of the current is based on the strength of an invisible stream of charged particles moving in the same direction, which forms a magnetic field, similar in principle to the electric one. They can affect other bodies that have a charge of one kind or another:
- negative;
- positive.
According to scientific research, electrons revolve around the central nucleus of any atom that is part of the molecules that form all physical bodies. Under the influence of magnetic fields, they can break away from their native nucleus and join another, as a result of which one molecule has a lack of electrons, while the other has an excess of them.
But the very essence of these elements is the desire to make up for the lack in the matrix - they always strive to where they are least in number. Such constant migration clearly shows how electricity is produced, because at close range, electrons rapidly move from one center of the atom to another. This leads to the formation of a current, about the nuances of the action of which it is interesting to know the following facts:
- vector - its direction always comes from the negative charged pole and tends to the positive;
- atoms with an excess of electrons have a charge "minus" and are called "ions", the lack of these elements creates a "plus";
- in the contacts of the wires, the "negative" charge is called the "phase", and the "plus" is indicated by zero;
- the smallest distance between atoms is in the composition of metals, therefore they are the best current conductors;
- the greatest interatomic distance is fixed in rubber and solids - marble, amber, porcelain - which are dielectrics, unable to conduct current, therefore they are also called "insulators";
- the energy generated during the movement of electrons and heating the conductors is called "power", which is usually measured in watts.
Long distance transmission
The relevance of the transmission of electricity over a distance is due to the fact that power plants are equipped with powerful equipment that gives high output indicators. Its consumers are low-powered and scattered over a large area. The construction of the largest terminal is expensive, so there is a tendency to concentrate capacities. This significantly reduces costs. Also, location matters. A number of factors are included: proximity to resources, the cost of transportation and the ability to work in a single energy system.
To understand how electricity is transmitted over long distances, you should know that there are direct and alternating current power lines. The main characteristic is their throughput. Losses are observed in the process of heating the wires or the distance. The transfer is carried out according to the following scheme:
- Power station. It is the source of electricity generation.
- Step-up transformer, which provides an increase in performance to the required values.
- A step-down transformer. It is installed at distribution stations and lowers the parameters for supply to the private sector.
- Supply of energy to residential buildings.
DC lines
Currently, more preference is given to the transmission of electricity by direct current. This is due to the fact that all the processes occurring inside are not of a wave nature. This greatly facilitates the transport of energy.
The advantages of DC transmission include:
- low cost;
- small amount of losses;
AC supply
The advantages of transporting alternating current include the ease of its transformation. This is done with the help of devices - transformers, which are not difficult to manufacture. The design of electric motors of this current is much simpler. The technology allows forming lines into a single power system. This is facilitated by the possibility of creating switches at the construction site of the branches.
To avoid danger
Despite the undeniable benefits that the discovery of electricity has brought to people, improving the quality of life, there is a reverse side of the coin. Electrical discharge can kill or cause significant harm to health.The negative impact of electric current on a person can be expressed in the following:
- a sharp and powerful contraction of muscle fibers, which leads to tissue rupture;
- an insignificant outwardly burn with a deep internal lesion of the organ;
- imbalance of electrolysis in the body;
- eye damage from ultraviolet flash;
- overstrain and malfunction of the nervous system;
- respiratory paralysis and cardiac arrest.
The damage from exposure directly depends on the strength of the current. If it is equal to 0.05 A, then it is considered relatively safe for life. A frequency of 0.1 A and above can deprive consciousness and neutralize the ability of muscles to contract, which is sometimes fatal in a fall or the presence of chronic diseases. In no case should you touch a bare wire without being sure that there is no voltage. Touching with both hands at the same time will cause electrical shock to the heart, which can be fatal.
First aid in case of electric shock should be provided without succumbing to panic, because by grabbing the victim, whose body is by nature a drive that holds the received discharge, there is a risk of being subjected to an electric shock. You can not quickly run to the fallen, instead you have to take small steps, which will ensure safety and allow you to call the doctors, instead of suffering yourself. And while waiting for the ambulance, try to help as follows:
- neutralize the main source of energy - by turning off the switch or traffic jams;
- remove a dangerous electrical appliance from the victim using an object with insulating properties, preferably a wooden stick or a rolled magazine;
- if necessary, drag a person to a safe place, you need to wear rubber gloves or wrap your hands with natural cloth, avoiding direct contact with the victim's skin;
- with gloved fingers, try to feel the pulse and if it is weak, then make a closed heart massage and turn the victim on the right side.
To avoid the danger of electric shock, it is necessary to regularly check the serviceability of household appliances and the condition of sockets by putting rubber plugs on them if there are kids in the house. Also, do not walk in a thunderstorm during frequent lightning, and being at home at this time, it is better to close the windows.
Electricity in every
But for the first time, science paid attention to electrophysics, or rather, to the ability of living organisms to generate electricity, after the amusing incident with frog legs in the 18th century, which, on a rainy day, somewhere in Bologna, began to twitch from contact with iron. The wife of the Bolognese professor Luigi Galvatti, who entered the butcher's shop for a French delicacy, saw this terrible picture and told her husband about the evil spirits that were raging in the neighborhood
But Galvatti looked at it from a scientific point of view, and after 25 years of hard work, his book Treatises on the Power of Electricity in Muscular Movement was published. In it, the scientist for the first time stated that electricity is in each of us, and nerves are a kind of “electrical wires”.
Where can you get energy and in what form
In fact, energy, in one form or another, is practically everywhere in nature - the sun, wind, water, earth - there is energy everywhere. The main task is to extract it from there. Humanity has been doing this for more than one hundred years and has achieved good results. At the moment, alternative energy sources can provide the house with heat, electricity, gas, warm water. Moreover, alternative energy does not require any super skills or super knowledge. Everything can be done for your home with your own hands. So what can be done:
- Use solar energy to generate electricity or to heat water - for hot water or low-temperature heating (solar panels and collectors).
- Convert wind energy into electricity (wind generators).
- With the help of heat pumps to heat the house, taking heat from the air, land, water (heat pumps).
-
Receive gas from waste products of domestic animals and birds (biogas plants).
All alternative energy sources are able to fully meet human needs, but this requires too large investments and/or too large areas. Therefore, it is more reasonable to make a combined system: to receive energy from alternative sources, and if there is a shortage, “to get” from centralized networks.
Movement of electricity
Further transmission of electrical energy is carried out through networks. They are a set of equipment that is responsible for the distribution and supply of electricity to the consumer. There are several varieties of them:
- Shared networks. They serve agriculture and manufacturing.
- Contact. This is a dedicated group that provides the supply of electricity to moving vehicles. This includes trains and trams.
- For maintenance of remote facilities and utilities.
- Autonomous networks. They provide electricity to large mobile units. These are aircraft, ships and spacecraft.
How it works
How does a person generate electricity? The whole reason is the numerous biochemical processes that occur at the cellular level. Inside our body there are many different chemicals - oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and many others. Their reactions with each other and generate electrical energy. For example, in the process of "cellular respiration", when the cell releases energy received from water, carbon dioxide, and so on. It, in turn, is deposited in special chemical high-energy compounds, let's conditionally call it "repositories", and subsequently used "as needed".
But this is just one example - there are many chemical processes in our body that generate electricity. Each person is a real powerhouse, and it is quite possible to use it in everyday life.
An ordinary miracle of natural phenomena
It is interesting that the bodies of a person and many living beings are not only conductors of electrical impulses, but are also capable of generating this energy on their own. Illustrative examples are electric rays, lampreys and eels, which have special processes in the structure of the body, which serve as a kind of storage needle, with which they hit the victim with a discharge with a frequency of several hundred hertz.
Most scientists believe that the human body is like a power plant with an autonomous system of self-regulation. There were cases when people not only survived after being struck by lightning, but also gained healing from diseases and new abilities. Each of these lucky ones had a strong natural immunity, as a result of which the blow of natural electricity only strengthened their innate strength.
In nature, there are many phenomena that prove that electricity is its integral part and exists everywhere:
- The fiery signs of St. Elmo have been familiar to sailors since ancient times. Outwardly, they look like brush-shaped lights of candles of a pale blue and purple hue, and their length can reach one meter. Appear in a storm and thunderstorms on the spiers of the masts of ships. The sailors tried to break off the ends of the masts and go down with a torch, but this never succeeded, since the fire passed to other high-lying objects. It is surprising that the fire does not burn the hands and is cold when touched. The sailors believed that this was a blessed sign from Saint Elmo that the ship was under his protection and would safely arrive at the port. Modern research has shown that the extraordinary fire is electrical in nature;
- Aurora Borealis - in the upper atmosphere accumulates many small elements that have flown from the depths of space.They collide with particles of the lower layers of the air shell and dust particles with different charge poles, resulting in chaotically moving light flashes of different colors. Such a glow is characteristic of the period of the polar night and can last for several days;
- Lightning - changes in atmospheric currents cause the simultaneous occurrence of ice and drops. The force of friction from their collision fills cumulus clouds with powerful electric charges. From the contact of clouds with opposite charges, a powerful light emission arises in thunder peals. When the lower atmosphere is overflowing with electrical charges, they can coalesce to form ball lightning, which travels along a fairly low trajectory and is very dangerous because it can explode on impact with a living being or a static object.
In addition to alternating and direct current, there is also static electricity that occurs when the balance within the atoms is disturbed. Synthetic fabric has the ability to accumulate it, which is expressed by small sparks when clothes move during dressing and a prickly feeling when touching a person or metal.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1AWmyGXjIzY
This is a very unpleasant sensation, besides, in large doses it is harmful to health. Static radiation also comes from televisions, computers and household appliances that electrify dust. Therefore, in order to preserve health, it is necessary to wear clothes made from natural fabrics, not to be near electrical appliances for a long time and to clean more often.
