The earliest known steam turbine was built by Hero of Alexandria in the first century A.D. Called the Sphere of Aeolus, the device consisted of a hollow sphere that could be made to rotate at high speed by feeding the interior of the sphere with steam,...

Since the turn of the twentieth century, the steam turbine has evolved from an experimental device to the major source of electrical generation. Practical steam turbine inventions coincided with the development of direct-current electric dynamos first...

A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into useful mechanical work. It has almost completely replaced the reciprocating piston steam engine, primarily because of its greater thermal...

face=+Bold; The long and short of last-stage bladesface=-Bold; face=+Italic; The use of longer steam turbine last-stage blades (LSBs) reduces the number of low-pressure casings and, thus, a turbine's total installed cost. In many cases longer blades extract more energy from low-pressure steam before...

Steam turbines tend to be exposed to water and other solid particles that damage the smooth surfaces and cause metal fatigue. An economical way of maintaining steam turbines is through wire-arc coating or shot-peening technologies. Westinghouse Electric Corp has developed the Spray-Pro wire-arc spraying...

When it comes to energy, the power right now is behind the green.Socially conscious investors whose holdings include PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Fund PBW have been reaping the benefits of the recent interest in alternative energies.The small-cap growth exchange traded fund tracks the performance of...

It seems a little soon to start worrying about how we'll get our power during the scorching summer peak hours. After all, it's more than a bit chilly out.Luckily, someone is. Nevada Power is currently building a dozen combined cycle natural gas-fired power generators in...