In recent times, most countries have been facing power crisis. Almost all our needs are based on power. In this blog, I will try to explain how power is produced in a thermal Power Plant. Of course, we have different methods by which power is produced, like Wind Mills, or Dams with Hydraulic Turbines, Diesel Generators, nuclear power plants etc. However, a thermal power plant is one of the oldest technologies in this field. 

A Thermal Power Plant basically runs on the Rankine Cycle principle. We have a Big Pump called the Boiler Feed Pump which gives the saturated water at its corresponding pressure a good amount of head to go through the boiler with out losing on the pressure. The Water once inside the boiler is heated in a step-by-step procedure. 

A thermal power plant is basically run by a Boiler which may be Coal Fired or Gas Fired or Oil Fired or maybe a combination of all these. 

The Boiler is heated and fired with the means of a fuel. Fuel may vary from different types of coal to oil or natural gas. The fuel is fired inside the combustion chamber and temperature upto 1300 degree celcius is generated. For smaller boilers the temperature inside the furnace may vary. 

The boiler heats the water and converts it into superheated steam or Dry Steam. ( Dry Steam is the steam with no water particles in it.) 

This Dry steam then goes to the Steam Turbine and it hits the blades with a lot of power. The Dry steam velocity may rise up to 70 to 80 m/sec. This steam has a high pressure and a high temperature. This pressure helps to move the turbine blades and the blades rotate with a RPM of say about, 15000. However the RPM depends on the Turbine Design also. This value may change!!! 

In this time the steam which had a lot of energy loses its energy as a result of hitting on the blades. As the pressure of the steam goes on decreasing the specific volume of the steam increases. This explains the construction of the Turbine as in the shape of an increasing cone. The steam which comes out of the turbine is then taken into a condenser where it is condensed and then with the help of the Condensate Extraction Pump it’s taken to the Deaerater. The Steam is cooled inside the Condensor with the help of Cooling Water which is supplied in huge quantities and is returned to the Cooling Towers for cooling. 

The shaft holding the impellers is now moving with a RPM which is coupled to a generator shaft. A gear box is placed between the two shafts. The RPM is reduced to 3000 rpm (in case of India) and 3600 rpm (in case of Europe and USA). The Generator has two magnetic stators and when the shaft rotates in the magnetic field, as per Faraday’s laws electricity is produced. The Main Line is connected to the Grid and we have power for our service. So this is how the power is produced. 

I hope to have made you understand (very roughly though) how the power is generated. If you have questions you can e-mail and ask me on arin.abc@gmail.com

This happened sometime back. I and 2 friends of mine were visiting Goa. We were returning from Goa. The little trip we planned turned out to be great. We were returning in a car we had hired. It was night. Around 1 O clock in the morning. The roads were pretty much deserted. We had come out of the town. And we were in between towns. When the tire of our car burst. Our driver pulled the car on the side. We all got out and saw the back tire was totally burst. It looked pretty bad. 

“Don’t Worry Sahib” Our driver told us, “I always carry a spare tire in the dickey of the car.”

“Well, that’s a relief!!! Or I was thinking like in the middle of the night and middle of nowhere, how could we get a tire!!!” My friend Rohit muttered the obvious. He had a habit of doing that.

“Yes, look around here, there are buildings here but they look so isolated. And no one is in sight!!” Mukesh said.

The driver had opened the back dickey of the car and took the spare tyre. And he had started to remove the old one.

While we stood, doing nothing. I was rather getting the feeling that several eyes from the dark corners watched us. I tried to shrug of the feeling. However, I could not. Suddenly I heard footsteps on the dry leaves. This was not made a man. But by an animal. I quickly turned around in my excitement and anxiety only to see a dog. I let go a sigh of relief. But still somehow something didn’t feel right.

“Uhhh…..guys, looks like we have got company!!!!” Rohit said pointing towards a few dogs who were slowly gathering around us. This looked dangerous.

“Oh Dear…this is not good!!! I don’t like dogs. I don’t like them at all!!” Mukesh said. He had started to tremble a little.

What Rohit said was right. The dogs were gathering in front of us now. Looking menacing with each and every passing moment.

“I think we should be getting back into the car” I said.

“It’s a good idea sahib!!” The driver said. And he quickly left all his work and jumped inside the car. And we had started to move slowly towards the door. Suddenly out of nowhere the dogs started to run towards us. They were growling and barking now. Rohit and I quickly went to the door. Rohit went to the other door while I went to the opposite door. Meanwhile Mukesh stood still in fear. He was unable to move.

“Mukesh get in the car!!!” I almost shouted.

But he didn’t budge. It looked as if he didn’t hear me at all. Rohit had got in quickly. But somehow my door didn’t open. It was stuck. Damn. I tried hard. I twisted it in every possible direction. But it was stuck. The driver quickly reached out to the inside lock and tried to open the door. The dogs now had come very close. And Mukesh started running. He ran straight ahead on the road. He let out a yell and ran for his life. I just stood there paralyzed and thought, ‘What the hell is he trying to do?’

But right now I didn’t have the time to think for Mukesh. I was in a bad situation. After the seeing Mukesh run, the dogs had started to run after him. They were chasing him like a pack of wolves after a prey. The dogs ran by. But two remained. They were coming towards me. Shit!!!! The door was jammed.

“Come to this side. This door is open!!!” Rohit shouted.

But it was tough. The dogs were almost on me now. What can I do??

Think!!! But my mind was blocked. One dog had reached me and very aggressively he tried to bite my leg. I jumped in air and landed a kick on him. No effect!!!

“Get on to the top of the car!!! And come to this side!!!” Rohit shouted from inside.

I had heard Rohit. Ok!! I jumped on the roof the car. One dog again had caught the hold of my pants and ripped it off!!!

I jumped on the roof and slided down to the other side of the car and fell down on the road. The two dogs came round to this side. Barking and Growling. They looked menacing. I quickly opened the door. And jumped in inside like a professional athlete. Rohit shut the door immediately blocking the dog attack. I was safe. But what about Mukesh??

“Mukesh!!!” I let out a groan.

“I don’t know. He went running on the road and the dogs running behind him!!” Rohit said.

“He is crazy!!! Why didn’t he jump inside the car?? What is he trying to do?? He will never get away from those beasts!!” I said almost panting. Trying to recover from my own experience.

“Your friend crazy, sahib!!!” Our Nepali driver said.

“Maybe he is trying to win a running race with the dogs!!” Rohit smiled.

“No time to crack jokes Rohit!!!” I snapped back.

Very soon the two dogs lost interest in us and the road was empty again. No sign of Mukesh!!!

We quickly and nervously got out of the car, fixed the tire and started on the road. Driving slowly. Looking for Mukesh. Hoping for the worst!!!

After sometime we did find Mukesh. He was hiding inside a big Dustbin. And the dogs had also lost interest in him and left him. He was still shivering from fear.

“Mukesh, You Dumbass…why didn’t  you get inside the car???” I asked

“I was too scared. My mind had stopped thinking, I guess, and I ran!!!” He said shivering.

“It doesn’t matter as long as you are all right!! Did they get a bite of you??” I asked and smiled. I tried to make the atmosphere a little light.

“ No!” he smiled back.

So we got out of Goa with a bit of adventure with dogs. Not a memorable one. I only hope this doesn’t happen to anyone!!!!

Ram was a childhood friend of mine. Whenever I visited my Dadi’s place, I always made a point to visit him. He had a innocence with him unlike the city people, which I liked. So this time when I visited my Dadi, I visited him. We always did a lot of masti. This time I wanted to go for fishing. This was a perfect season. Monsoons had started. So I was a little excited. Ram and I walked to a pond nearby. There was a boat. I sat on it and he pushed it into the pond and quickly jumped onto the boat. We had brought our fishing equipment….not the kind of equipment to boast about. We made it at home with a long stick and a string. A small ‘U’ shaped hook at the end of the string. And a thermocol piece in the middle of the string. It floats on the top of the water. When a fish baits the hooks. The thremocol piece goes up and down in the water and you knew you have a fish on to the hook. And you pull it up. Very simple piece of equipment!!!!

A crude form of fishing hook. But it served our purpose.

We sat there trying our luck with the fishes. After about 10 minutes I got a little impatient.

“Caught anything?” I asked looking at Ram.

He shook his head.

“No yaar!!! Give it sometime!!” he said patiently.

Half an hour passed by. It started to rain. We sat there not budging an inch. Our determination was high. We will go home catching a fish.

Another half an hour passed by. And still no luck.

“I think we should get back now. It’s getting dark” Ram said. He had a dejected look on his face.

I had to agree. Today was not a lucky day. We didn’t catch a single fish and were totally drenched by the rains. We started to walk towards our home. It was a sad and a dejected walk. Ahead we saw, Ghosh Babu walking in the other direction. He was the local police inspector

“Gone fishing eh???” he asked.

“Yes….and not a single fish today in our bags!!” I said

“Oh that’s bad….Monsoon’s are a good time to fish….you didn’t catch a single fish…that’s strange!!!” Ghosh babu said.

“Yes….we went to the pond near Mr.Mukherjee’s house.” Ram Said

“You went there??? That explains it!!” Ghosh babu’s eyes lit up. As if he solved a mystery.

“Why??” Both Ram and I asked in unision.

“Well. No fish is there in that pond. A year ago, some limestone was found in the base of the pond so the salt content of the pond is high. So no fish can survive!!!!” He said in a very dramatic fashion, with both his hands flying around here and there.

Both Ram and I looked into each other’s face!!! All this time we were fishing for nothing!!!

“Ram” I said, “How come you didn’t know about this??”

“Oh….Only a few people in this town know about it….” Ghosh Babu interrupted.

“That’s right” Ram said, “I didn’t know!!” He was shaking his head. It was clear he didn’t know.

We said goodbye to Ghosh Babu and had resumed walking.

“Tomorrow we go to the fish market and get a few fish for ourselves. It’s the fish that matters” I said and chuckled a little.

“Yes, you are right!!!” Ram had started to smile.

Very soon we were laughing at our stupid episode. Trying to catch a fish in a fishless pond. When I bid him adieu, I promised I would write this down in my blog.

I was watching the rains from the window. It was going on consistently now for sometime. It had rained all night and now the whole morning. Had with me a hot cup of coffee in my hands and sipping it. I was feeling great. This is what vacations should be like, I thought. I was at my Dadi’s place. I was watching the skies. A plane was flying in the midst of clouds. Slowly it was engulfed by the dark looking menacing cloud. My Dadu had come beside me and sat down. He looked at the sky.

“How do they fly the plane in this weather?” Dadu asked.

“I mean in all that dense cloud, how does the pilot know what is in front of him??”

I quickly glanced to Dadu. I smiled at his ignorance for technology.

“Well Dadu” I said, “It’s not exactly driving a four wheeler, you know!!”

“What do you mean? There should be clear visibility when they fly. Why are they risking all the lives of that many passengers in this weather. These people are crazy.” Dadu said.

I laughed. “Dadu”, I said, “Flying planes is not like normal driving. There are computers that help the pilot to map the flight. And they have continuous touch with ground control. So the pilot do not have the necessity to look ahead or have clear visibility.”

“You mean while landing and take off the pilot is blind. Then how come they land? One of these days, they will have a major accident. What’s a computer going to do? A pilot is necessary for plane controls. I do not like these computers. They are not good you know. In my times, it was the pilot who did all the flying. Why is the pilot needed if there are computers? I tell you ….these people should stick to only manual controls.” Dadu said. 

I kept on smiling. His child like ignorance about the computers in this age was a little humorous. I did not want to argue. I kept quite and kept smiling. Sipping on hot coffee.

“I tell you, if they ever crash on my house, I will give them a mouthful or two.” Dadu continued saying.

I could not help laughing on hearing this.

“It’s ok Dadu. Leave the poor pilot with his plane alone. I am sure they would not want to mess with you.” I said to my 75 year old Dadu, smilingly.

“They better stay away from this house.” He grumbled. And then he went away.

I kept on looking at the sky, with the coffee in my hands. And could not help smiling on his innocent ignorance. It was refreshing to know that this exists even today in this world.

I had taken a well deserved leave from my office and had gone my Dadi’s place. My Dadi is an old lady but she can , I think, work even more than me. A very enthusiastic lady. I had just woken up. It was 10 30 in the morning. I believe holidays were meant to be where I can be absolutely lazy. My Dadi on the other hand woken up early in the morning. Did pooja and had made delicious breakfast for me. The outside was an overcast atmosphere. It was going to rain very soon.

“Beta” my Dadi said. “I am just putting your breakfast again in the oven to make it hot. It has gone cold. In the meantime why don’t you go in the terrace to fix the TV antenna. I think there is something wrong  with it.” I must tell you that there is no cable T.V in this house. Somehow Dadi always liked Doordarshan better. Don’t ask me the reason why.

Wearing only a half trouser and a torn T-shirt, I went out side to the terrace to see what was wrong with the antenna. The weather was getting murkier and darker by the minute. Whatever I had to do I had to quickly. I quickly went to the terrace. And saw the antenna. It was facing downwards and was hopelessly directionless. I had to put it in the right direction. A simple Job.

It had already started to rain lightly. I had to it quickly or else I would be soon drenched in rain. I held the base rod of the Antenna and began to turn it. It was fully rusted. How long it has been standing in this position and rusting its way out, god only knows. It was now raining steadily. But still the rain was very light. I tried to hold it and put it the erect position as it should be. It got stuck. Damn!! I jerked it a little. Nothing happened. Jerked it again and the rust gave away and the base rod broke and the antenna fell on the terrace with a light thud. Oh dear!!!!

“ What happened Beta? Something wrong?? If you cant do it then come down. It’s ok. I will call some one…. besides it’s starting to rain.” My Dadi said from below.

But I was not going to accept defeat. “It’s ok Dadi. I will fix it!” I said. I took the rod now in my hands and held it up and started walking. And then somehow my feet landed on something slippery and I lost balance. The Antenna which was in my hand started to move forward. And in order to regain my balance and hold the antenna at the same time. I gave myself a forward lunge. This only made things worse. I lost grip of the antenna. And it tumbled and fell towards the edge of the wall. And I fell with my face forward. And I put both my hands to support so as not to fall wholly on my face. But the terrace floor was slippery and my hands could not grip the floor. I fell. I hurt my face on the right cheek bone. And my knees felt the impact. I was now lying down in the pool of muddy water. The rain kept on falling on me. I had totally drenched myself. I groaned.

“What happened beta?? What are you doing?” My Dadi said from below.

What a great start to a wonderful holiday?? I tried to get up slowly. I looked to antenna. It was balancing itself on the wall of the terrace. It was very delicately balanced. I had to get up quickly and get hold of it. My Dadi shouted again from below.

“Yes I am fine. Everything is ok.” I shouted back. But I knew it was lie. Nothing was allright. This bloody antenna had ruined my day. I got up and started walking towards the antenna slowly so as not to disbalance it. I moved now swiftly. But then a sudden breeze started blowing and this moved the antenna a little and it fell down from the terrace. And it crashed on the ground below.

My Dadi shouted again. What have I done? I can’t fix a simple antenna. My Dadi kept on shouting in the background. I quietly went downstairs. Totally drenched. My face was swollen now. My knee was paining. My Dadi gave me a horrifying look when she saw me. “What happened to you?” she screamed.

“Nothing” I groaned back “I will get you a new antenna Dadi”

What a perfect start to my vacations, I thought sarcastically.

RRRIIIIPPPPP………My trouser had ripped!!! Oh dear God!!! I was trying to catch the train from the CST Station and in my hurry when I was running, it tore apart!!! I knew the trouser was a little tight when I wore it but I never knew it would tear apart like this. And I was in the crowded station. Why God Why??? Why me?? The place where it tore apart was in those private embarrassing places. What do I do??? I froze. I stood at my place unable to move. I was scared somebody would notice my torn pants. Besides I also didn’t know to how much extent it has torn. I tried to determine by looking down carefully. Shit!! It’s big. People would notice even if they didn’t want to. What do I do?? I had started sweating. This is not a good sign. My home is almost an hour away. And journey home consists of traveling in a train and then a rickshaw. I couldn’t make this long journey. It was 8 pm already. I was going to be late. I had to do something!! Okay…Relax…I started walking very carefully so as not to show the torn area to anyone. But it was so hopelessly torn that it was visible anyhow. I had an idea. I took the shirt which was in and I let loose the shirt. The shirt hanging down would protect me from this embarrassing situation. But the shirt was not that long. So it covered the place to a little extent. I was still in deep water. Okay…now what?? Think…boy think!!! Ok….I have a credit card in my wallet….maybe if I buy a new trouser and then wear it home. Alright!! That’s a great Idea. I am a genius!!! So where do I find a trouser shop? And I needed to walk to that shop anyhow. I got to do it. I have no other way out. I somehow managed to walk out of the station and found a trouser shop to my relief. I walked slowly. Believe me it was an ordeal. Time went by slowly. And with each and every step I thought I was being exposed. Some people threw curious glances towards me. I just ignored walked in the weird way which I was walking. I hoped that nobody would notice my pants. I reached the trouser shop, quickly selected a trouser and changed. Whew!!! What a relief!!!

Believe me I was never this relieved in my whole life!!! My ordeal had ended. The next time I am going to keep an extra pair of Pants just in case!!!