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Mystery #4Tier 2-3electricity / magnetism

How does a power station actually make electricity?

Coal, gas, falling water, wind, even nuclear fuel: power stations are built around wildly different fuels. Yet almost every one of them, deep down, does the very same thing to make electricity. And the surprising part is what that thing is: they spin magnets. No magic ingredient, no special 'electricity fuel,' just magnets being moved. How does moving a magnet create electricity?

The generator hall of a hydroelectric power station, where spinning magnets make electricity.
Photo: Martin St-Amant (S23678) · CC BY 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Your guess

What do you think spinning a magnet near some wire does to create electricity?

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