• Question: could hydroelectric power be used to make cars run on water?

    Asked by to Jemma on 20 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Jemma Rowlandson

      Jemma Rowlandson answered on 20 Jun 2014:

      Hey!

      No, unfortunately not. To generate hydroelectric power you need a great big reservoir of water. What happens is when you need electricity a door is opened at the bottom of a reservoir and water flows through it. As water rushes out it turns a turbine (a bit like the ones on wind farms) which creates electricity. The water then runs into the river below.

      The important thing is you need a lot of water and also a very big hill. They only work in certain parts of the world with lots of water and mountains in the same place.

      Although we can’t fit this inside a car, there is another way! You can charge up an electric car from the electricity produced by a hydroelectric dam. So in that way actually I guess you could kind of run a car using hydroelectric power 🙂

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