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Why can steam turbines generate large amounts of power in a relatively small space?

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

Steam turbines are capable of generating tremendous power within a relatively small space because they function as a complex series of windmill-like arrangements assembled on a single shaft. By utilizing steam that impinges against attached vanes or blades, these turbines exert a tangential force that efficiently converts the thermal energy of steam into work.12

This high power density is achieved through the continuous expansion of steam across multiple stages. In condensing turbines, for example, steam is condensed at pressures significantly below atmospheric pressure, which allows for a much larger expansion of the steam and a greater change in enthalpy, resulting in higher work output. Because of this efficiency and compact design, steam turbines have become the preferred prime mover for large-scale electric power generation and marine propulsion, with some modern units capable of generating over 1.3 million kilowatts on a single shaft.314