turbine: Quick Facts

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Photos

Rows of white wind turbines with spinning blades stand on a dry, grassy landscape at a wind farm near Tehachapi, California.

schematic of an impulse stage with velocity diagrams

idealized 50 percent reaction stage for a steam turbine

De Laval turbine

Vertical-axis wind turbine

Diagram comparing turbofan and turboprop air-breathing engines. The turbofan shows air split between the compressor and bypassing the engine, while the turboprop shows hot gases driving a turbine that powers both the compressor and a propeller. Key components such as air intake, compressor, combustion chamber, turbine, and exhaust are labeled, with arrows indicating airflow and hot gas movement.

Diagram of the German A-4 (V-2) rocket from World War II, showing an exterior view above and a labeled cutaway below that highlights internal components such as the warhead, alcohol fuel tank, liquid oxygen tank, turbine and pump, combustion chamber, guidance and control devices, and control vanes.

This diagram shows how a tidal power barrage generates electricity, with cross-sections of a structure containing sluice gates and a turbine placed between the ocean and a tidal basin. Water flows through the turbine as tides change, converting tidal energy into hydroelectric power. The upper image depicts high tide with water held in the tidal basin, while the lower image shows water flowing back through the turbine at low tide.

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Topics

water turbine power specific speed Walter turbine reversible-pump turbine steam turbine reaction turbine impulse turbine gas-turbine engine windmill Francis turbine nuclear reactor fusion reactor steam engine cooling system internal-combustion engine piston and cylinder injector electric motor battery electric generator

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Key People

Jean-Victor Poncelet, detail of a lithograph by Patout, 1849.

Jean-Victor Poncelet

French mathematician

Electric power lines against sunset (grid, power, wires, electrical, electricity)

Energy & Fossil Fuels