JuRadioactif

More fun grid thought experiments: 1️⃣ If grid load went to ZERO (i.e. an open circuit), turbines would suddenly feel ~NO resistance. This is because there would be no current flowing in the stator windings of the generators. With no current, Lenz's law could not take effect, and the turbine would just spin as easily as a big weight on a low friction bearing. 2️⃣ If grid load went to INFINITY (i.e. a closed circuit with superconducting wires), turbines would suddenly feel effectively "INFINITE" resistance. This is because there would be "infinite" (i.e. very high) current flowing through the wires, so Lenz's law would be taken to the extreme. Any motion of the generator would be met with an incredibly strong counter-force, as any induced current in the wire would be resisted by an instant and opposite counter-force to oppose the motion that caused it. Note: we're ignoring impedance for illustrative purposes here. 3️⃣ If a turbine on the grid were spinning, and then lost the driving force from a nuclear plant or combustion (eg hot steam no longer fed to the turbine), the grid would instantly switch from power DRAW to actually APPLY A FORCE on the turbine / generator, causing it to continue to spin! Before losing steam, the turbine is pushing the rotor ahead of the grid's rotating magnetic field. After losing steam, the rotor would start to fall behind the grid's magnetic field. So the grid's field would PULL the rotor forward, drawing energy from the grid, instead of the rotor PUSHING against it, supplying energy as it usually does! Fun to think about : )