# Is there a way to generate electricity that doesn't involve a turbine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723 "2008-02-22T15:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/1 "2008-02-22T15:54:06Z")
When I had the principle behind electricity generation explained to me at school it was effectively movement of a copper wire through the earth’s magnetic field causes a current - move a fuck load of wires through the earth’s field really fast and you get modern commercial power generation (i.e. turbines). Once you understand that you realise that all power plants and generators are essentially just gizmos to move wires. Of course in sci-fi all of this is glossed over and things like anti-matter generators and tachyon beam generators are common place, but these things aren’t real and grossly simplify electricity generation. What I was wondering was is there any way (real or theorised) currently of creating electricity that doesn’t involve the use of turbines/wires the earth’s magnetic field? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/2 "2008-02-22T15:55:10Z")
Solar panels. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/3 "2008-02-22T15:56:43Z")
Batteries ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/4 "2008-02-22T16:00:05Z")
Thermocouples produce electricity as well, but I don’t think enough to be practical. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/5 "2008-02-22T16:00:15Z")
Thermoelectricity: > **[Thermoelectric effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectricity)** > > The thermoelectric effect is the direct conversion of temperature differences to electric voltage and vice versa via a thermocouple. A thermoelectric device creates a voltage when there is a different temperature on each side. Conversely, when a voltage is applied to it, heat is transferred from one side to the other, creating a temperature difference. At the atomic scale, an applied temperature gradient causes charge carriers in the material to diffuse from the hot side to the cold side. > This e... ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/6 "2008-02-22T16:05:38Z")
[QUOTE=Illuminatiprimus] When I had the principle behind electricity generation explained to me at school it was effectively movement of a copper wire through the earth’s magnetic field causes a current - move a fuck load of wires through the earth’s field really fast and you get modern commercial power generation (i.e. turbines). Once you understand that you realise that all power plants and generators are essentially just gizmos to move wires. [/QUOTE] You do understand that commercial generators don’t rely on the Earth’s magnetic field to generate electricity, right? While I don’t doubt that some millivolts could be generated that way, in practical terms you have to have a much stronger magnet to generate electricity. Even the smallest classroom experiment uses a magnet. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/7 "2008-02-22T16:05:49Z")
[Piezoelectic effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectric). ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/8 "2008-02-22T16:07:29Z")
Magnetize a pogo stick and jump up and down in a coil of wire. It’s not a turbine in the usual sense. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/9 "2008-02-22T16:07:54Z")
[QUOTE=Illuminatiprimus] What I was wondering was is there any way (real or theorised) currently of creating electricity that doesn’t involve the use of turbines/wires the earth’s magnetic field? [/QUOTE] Yeah, pretty much all of them. 🙂 No practical generators use the earth’s magnetic field; they all use highly-tuned artificial magnets. Photovoltaic cells and thermocouples can generate electricity without any moving parts. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/10 "2008-02-22T17:22:22Z")
Just for the record, the turbine is a thing that can make a generator spin, not the generator itself. There are other ways to make generators spin, and there are other uses for turbines than spinning generators. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/11 "2008-02-22T17:50:05Z")
Potato clocks? Erm, not to limit this to clocks or even to 70’s novelty items, but you know what I mean – stick metal electrodes in something organic and that hopefully won’t smell too bad after a few days, and Bob’s yer uncle. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/12 "2008-02-22T17:57:07Z")
Magnetohydrodynamic generator. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/13 "2008-02-22T18:14:36Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] Magnetohydrodynamic generator. [/QUOTE] That requires a magnetic field too, and mechanical motion. The only difference is that current is generated in moving fluid rather than moving wires. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/14 "2008-02-22T18:26:08Z")
[QUOTE=scr4] That requires a magnetic field too, and mechanical motion. The only difference is that current is generated in moving fluid rather than moving wires. [/QUOTE] The OP’s question was “Is there a way to generate electricity that doesn’t involve a turbine.” I believe MHD satisfies those conditions. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/15 "2008-02-22T18:34:21Z")
Fuel cells. Used on the space shuttle. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/16 "2008-02-22T18:37:15Z")
Petting a cat. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/17 "2008-02-22T18:40:24Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] The OP’s question was “Is there a way to generate electricity that doesn’t involve a turbine.” I believe MHD satisfies those conditions. [/QUOTE] The OP loosely (and incorrectly?) defined turbines as “gizmos to move wires.” I was simply pointing out that MHD generators work exactly the same way, the only difference being the “wire” is a conductive fluid and not solid copper. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/18 "2008-02-22T19:22:33Z")
Like others point out, the Earth’s magnetic field isn’t typically used in power generation. In fact as far as I know it has never been used to generate useful power, though I am not certain. Most electrical power is generated by spinning an electromagnetic power generator shaft with some heat engine like a turbine or a diesel or gasoline engine or a steam engine, or spinning it with a turbine driven by falling river water or one driven by the wind. You can also generate it with chemical reactions in a battery cell, or in a fuel cell. You can also generate it by the thermoelectric effect, especially with Peltier-type semiconductor thermopiles. You can use solar cells. You can even generate it with vibrating magnets on springs, or with Beta-emitting radioactive sources, or by rubbing materials together and causing triboelectrification, or with a microphone, or with machines that push charge around mechanically without any magnetic effects, such as Wimshurst and van de Graaf generators, or the proper arrangement of water dripping out of tanks, or the electrophorus. I think these are very obscure nich devices or even just intriguing demonstration devices. Nasa engineers were once surprised to find that a pipe they had mounted outdoors was suddenly spinning on its own. They had mounted a very nice straight length of thin-walled and blackened metal pipe horizontally, and suspended it on bearings at both ends so it could rotate like a shaft or a drill bit. The next morning, the thing was spinning all on its own. They figured out that the sunlight was heating whichever side was facing upward, making that side expand more so that the shaft bowed upwards in the middle, which of course was not stable. So the shaft would start to fall over, one way or the other, but that changes which side is getting heated. The shaft never caught up with itself and kept spinning as long as the sun heated it. At least, this is if I recall correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/19 "2008-02-22T19:23:00Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] Petting a cat. [/QUOTE] I love this one! To make it feasible as a national energy policy option, would we all need to pet cats while hooked into the grid, or would we need to develop giant mutant cats that would be used as power plants? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723/20 "2008-02-22T19:37:46Z")
[QUOTE=Mycroft H.] I love this one! To make it feasible as a national energy policy option, would we all need to pet cats while hooked into the grid, or would we need to develop giant mutant cats that would be used as power plants? [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure that the energy cost of removing and disposing of the all the cat poop would offset any energy actually generated in this fashion. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-generate-electricity-that-doesnt-involve-a-turbine/438723.md?page=2)