Page 50 - 383_
P. 50

alternating wave is T.
                                  1 second, the frequency of the alternating wave is f = Нz.

                                   2. How Electrical Energy is Produced

                                  There  are  several  methods  of  producing  electricity  for
                            practical purposes. The battery of a pocket torch may be contrasted
                            with the source of enormous energy represented by a larger power
                            station. Both are examples of the application of electrical energy to
                            a  particular  purpose,  and  in  general  the  purpose  determines  the
                            nature  of  the  method  used  to  produce  the  energy.  Practical
                            methods of producing electricity may be enumerated as follows:
                            1.  Chemical,  as  represented  by  the  various  types  of  batteries  or
                               primary  cells  in  which  the  electricity  is  produced  by  purely
                               chemical actions.
                            2.  Electromagnetic,  forming  the  basis  of  operation  of  rotating
                               generators  in  which  the  electricity  is  produced  by  conductors
                               moving through a magnetic field. This is the method employed
                               in practice for generators of various sizes.
                            3.  Thermo-electric, in which the heating of the junction between
                               two different metals produces a very small voltage, which may
                               be  used  for  purposes  of  temperature  measurement  and  as  a
                               source of power.
                            4.  Pieso-electric, in which a very small voltage is produced across
                               certain faces of a crystal by application of mechanical pressure.
                               This  effect  is  used,  for  example,  as  a  means  of  frequency
                               control in radio oscillators or for gramophone pick-ups, but it is
                               suitable for power supply.
                            5.  Electronic,  characterized  by  the  flow  of  electrons  through
                               evacuated or gas-fi1 led tubes, and having the following forms:
                               a)  Thermionic emission. In which   electrons are produced by
                                  the heating of special materials.
                               b) Photo-electric  emission,  in  which  electrons  are  liberated  at
                                  the surface of certain substances by the action of light.
                               c)  Secondary  emission,  in  which  electrons  are  driven  from  a
                                  material by the impact of electrons or other particles on its
                                  surface.

                                                           48
   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55