ABSTRACT
Bringing together the development of the water turbine with the dynamo allowed harnessing the kinetic energy of water to operate an electricity generator. Adding Tesla’s AC generator paved the way to long-distance transmission of electricity. Together, these provided the foundation for today’s regional, national, and international electricity grids. Hydroelectricity has many advantages, not the least of which is its being virtually pollution free. Yet there remain concerns about environmental and ecological effects of dam building; even if these concerns were mitigated, many parts of the world lack good sites for potential hydroelectric generation. In other words, it is imperative to nd an alternative working uid to use in the turbine, to avoid relying exclusively on hydro for large-scale electricity generation.
