The+History+and+Benefits+of+Dams

__History of Dams__ The oldest renewable resource by far is the use of water to generate power. This is called "hydroelectric power" and utilizes the power of river dams to aid humans. How it works in the modern world is that water spins through turbines producing electricity. They are usually built in an area where water decreases in altitude so that when the dam is built there is an area to house the water that builds up behind the dam. The benefits of using this technology compared to other renewable resources is:

__Benefits of Using Dams__
 * Fuel is not burned so there is minimal pollution
 * Water to run the power plant is provided free by nature
 * Hydropower plays a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
 * Relatively low operations and maintenance costs
 * The technology is reliable and proven over time
 * It's renewable - rainfall renews the water in the reservoir, so the fuel is almost always there

__ [|graph1.bmp]__ This page is from the company BP and shows Consumption by Region __[] Difference Between Ancient and Modern Dams__ The main difference between the modern day dam and the ones they built in olden times is that nowadays they use the technology of electromagnetism discovered by Michael Faraday. He found that by passing a magnet through a copper coil it produces a charge of electricity. Image from []

Above is the is the Hoover Dam and below is a dam in action. As you can see, water let thtrough will generate power. Image below from [] The Three Gorges Dam in China is one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world. Image from [] __Extra Resources include:__ [] This is a diagram that shows the internal workings of a hydroelecric dam. [] This page shows some statistics about hydroelectric dams and how they work. [] This site has an animation and description about hydroelectric dams to further understanding of the generators.