- Regardless of whether a power station is coal, gas or nuclear fired steam, a turbine is still used to power electricity generators. Initially, steam is produced by heating highly pressurized water to around 540 degrees Celsius (1,000 Fahrenheit) before being forced through a turbine at more than 1,800 pounds per square inch (130 kilograms per square centimeter). This force rapidly turns blades within the turbine which resemble those of a jet engine and in turn provides power to the power station's generator. The Kingston Power Plant in Tennessee uses this method to produce over 10 billion kilowatt-hours a year; enough electricity to supply 700,000 homes.
- Wind turbines generate electricity by harnessing the kinetic power of the wind. In the past, wind turbines like windmills were used to turn machinery or pump water. Modern wind turbines use the force of wind over their blades to turn either a high-speed or low-speed shaft, depending on the wind speed. As the blades are turned the shafts rapidly spin, powering a small generator. Wind turbines are usually clustered together, either on the land or in the sea and are known as wind farms. The power from each turbine is combined before being distributed.
- Water turbines are used in hydroelectric power stations to provide energy for electrical generators. Most fall into two groups, either impulse or reaction turbines. In reaction turbines, water is forced under pressure through a "runner", made up of a series of blades similar to a steam turbine. The runner is quickly spun by the high pressure water and turns a shaft connected to a generator. An impulse turbine uses a nozzle to pressurize slow moving water and turn a runner shaped like a waterwheel; this in turn provides power to a generator.
- A gas turbine again is similar to water, wind and steam turbines but instead uses pressurized gas in order to spin. In modern gas turbines, the machine produces its own pressure by burning propane, natural gas, kerosene or jet fuel. The heat which results from burning these gasses causes air to heat, expand and increase in pressure. The pressurized air rushes to escape and spins the turbine. Variations on the gas turbine are used to power helicopters and even commercial airliners in the form of turbojet engines.
- The most powerful turbine in the world is the GE90-115B turbofan jet engine. It was built to power the Boeing 777 airliner and can deliver a maximum of 127,500 pounds of thrust. In other words, the air forced from the back of the engine could put pressure on a surface equivalent to the weight of around 8 elephants.
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