- 1). Pulverize the coal and aerate it for optimal burning using the coal pulverizer. Power plants use specialized rotating pulverizers that output coal ready to burn.
- 2). Feed the coal (via a conveyor belt in large plant operations) into a special coal burner that has a boiler to heat the water to create steam. The burners are contained, high intensity heat sources that are constructed of strongly reinforced metal to withstand the heat pressure.
- 3). Capture the escaping steam from the boiler and channel it into a stearm turbine connected to a generator. The turbine is a mechanism with flanges that spins when the steam hits the flanges. The steam will force the turbine to rotate.
- 4). Create the electricity with the generator. The generator consists of an electromagnet surrounding the charged wires. The wires are attached to the turbine, and thus spin with the turbine. As the wires spin through the magnetic field created by the electromagent, electricity is produced.
- 5). Return the steam to the boiler via the condenser for reuse.
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