Electricity
Electricity is the most versatile kind of energy used on Earth. It plays an important part in almost every modern technology. Electricity can be transmitted easily over a distance via cables. It can be transformed into several other energy forms. A settlement on Mars can hardly be imagined without electricity.
Contents
Generation
Electrical energy can be produced directly in several ways.
Photovoltaics
The conversion of photons to electricity.
Mechanical Generators
The interactions between moving magnets or electromagnets can be used to produce electricity.
Thermoelectric Generators
A thermoelectric generator produces electricity from differences in thermal energy between two or more areas.
Piezoelectrics
Piezoelectricity is the generation of electricity as a direct result of mechanical deformation.
Electrochemistry
Uses of Electricity
Electricity can be directly used to produce
- Heat
- Light
- Movement of machine parts.
Electrical energy can be directly stored in capacitors and inductors, but only in very small amounts. Large amounts can be stored indirectly in other energy forms.
Significance for a Martian colony
Inevitabilities
For some settlement applications electricity can not be avoided. This is true for radio link and night time lighting.
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