Francis Turbine

The Francis turbine was invented by an American inventor James B. Francis in the 1800s. The Francis turbine is an inward flow reaction turbine and is used in devices with a wide variety of head and flow. The Francis Turbine is the most commonly used turbine today to generate hydroelectricity. They are often used in large hydroelectric dam systems. The Francis turbine is a versatile turbine that can be built with either a horizontal or vertical axis and can be used in many different hydraulic head heights and water flow levels. This turbine also uses mobile guide vanes to direct the water into the turbine which can be set to allow the desired level of water flow into the turbine system.

Francis Turbine

Stanene - Conductor with 100% Efficiency

Stanene (from the Latin stannum meaning tin, which also gives the element its chemical symbol, Sn), is the latest cousin of graphene, the lattice of carbon atoms that has spurred thousands of studies into related 2D materials. Those include sheets of silicene, made from silicon atoms; phosphorene, made from phosphorus; germanene, from germanium; and thin stacks of sheets that combine different kinds of chemical elements. Stanene could be the world’s first electrical conductor with 100% efficiency, which would make it more conductive than graphene. The material has not yet been mass-produced.

Scientists have been working on the concept of electrical conductivity without losses for several years, but most of the systems operate only under extreme conditions, either strong magnetic fields or very low temperatures such as with superconductors. Stanene conducts electricity only through their surfaces or edges and not through their interiors. These structures are a single atom thick, and the electrons and nuclei of heavy atoms in the structures exhibit complex interactions, allowing them to conduct electricity with 100% efficiency.