Power Plant Engineering

Radiant energy exists in a range of wavelengths that extends from radio waves that many be
thousands of meters long to gamma rays with wavelengths as short as a million-millionth (10
– 12
) of a
meter. Radiant energy is converted to chemical energy by the process of photosynthesis.
The next two types of energy go hand and hand, gravitational potential energy and kinetic
energy. The term energy is motivated by the fact that potential energy and kinetic energy are different
aspects of the same thing, mechanical energy.

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FUNDAMENTAL OF POWER PLANT
5
Potential energy exists whenever an object which has mass has a position within a force field.
The potential energy of an object in this case is given by the relation PE = mgh, where PE is energy in
joules, m is the mass of the object, g is the gravitational acceleration, and h is the height of the object goes.
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. An object in motion, whether it be vertical or horizontal
motion, has kinetic energy. There are different forms of kinetic energy vibrational, which is the energy
due to vibrational motion, rotational, which is the energy due to rotational motion, and transnational,
which is the energy due to motion from one location to the other. The equation for kinetic energy is ½
mv
2
, where m is the mass and v is the velocity. This equation shows that the kinetic energy of an object
is directly proportional to the square of its speed.
1.6 POWER
Power is the rate doing work, which equals energy per time. Energy is thus required to produce
power. We need energy to run power plants to generate electricity. We need power to run our appliances,
and heat our homes. Without energy we would not have electricity.
The units of power are watts, joules per second, and horsepower,
where ;
1 Watt = 1 joule per second
1 Kilowatt = 1,000 Watts
1 Megawatt = 1,000 kilowatts
= 1 horsepower
Electricity is the most convenient and versatile form of energy. Demand for it, therefore, has been
growing at a rate faster than other forms of energy. Power industry too has recorded a phenomenal rate
of growth both in terms of its volume and technological sophistication over the last few decades. Elec-
tricity plays a crucial role in both industrial and agricultural sectors and, therefore, consumption of
electricity in the country is an indicator of productivity and growth. In view of this, power development
has been given high-priority in development programme.