Water is the most important and indispensable of natural resources. It has various industrial uses, as for example, in the production of steam and in refrigeration, in mixing with chemicals, etc. Water is responsible for the development of inland and ocean transportation. The most important of all the use is the generation of electric power from running water. Waterpower is a major source of mechanical energy, which has opened up a new horizon for industrial development. The total potential waterpower of the world has been estimated at 665 million-horse power or more of which 130 million horse power, i.e., 1/5th has so far been developed.
Superiority of Water Power over Other Sources of Power:
The deposits and supplies of coal, petroleum and natural gas are limited in the world. They are exhaustible in nature. With their gradual raisings, the stock diminishes, and a day will come when there will be no stock at all. With their uses they are finished forever. They cannot be replenished. But waterpower is inexhaustible. It can be used again and again, since it is continuously replenished in a natural way through evaporation and precipitation. It has been estimated that 35 per cent of the rainfall becomes run-off water in brooks, creeks and rivers and the balance is soaked in the ground or evaporated. This run-off water makes waterpower possible. Power produced by hydroelectric stations is usually cheaper than that produced by fuel driven stations. Every horsepower generated with water represents an annual saving of 4 tons of coal approximately. The use of waterpower does not diminish the amount still available.
The velocity of water flow depends on gradient. Therefore, certain conditions favor its development.
Conditions Necessary for Developing Water Power: Physical conditions:
(1) High altitude: Water becomes potential for power only when it attains elevation. The higher the elevation the greater will be the power-potential of water
(2) Quantity of water: There should be fairly uniform discharge of water throughout the year through streams resulting from uniform precipitation or regulation of stream.
(3) Steepness of the gradient is ideal. A slope or gradient permits the water of a stream to be used and re-used for power development.
(4) Temperature affects supply of waterpower. In areas of cold winters the river freezes and the stream flow is reduced.
(5) The existence of rapids and falls favor the development of power as they represent maximum velocity of flowage and make the best waterpower sites.
(6) The waterpower development has been influenced by glaciation. The glaciated areas are left with lakes which serve as storage basins for the water and keep the silt content low for they act as settling basins for water flowing through them.
Thus the geographical conditions most favorable for hydroelectric development would be a large flow of water coupled with great height of fall, preferably provided by nature.
Economic conditions:
(1) Market. The river with these ideal conditions lying near an area of dense population, helps in the development of waterpower. The consuming areas should not be far away from producing areas as the power cannot be transmitted economically beyond 300 miles from the generating station. The size and nature of market are of prime importance.
(2) Capital: The hydro-electrical plant requires an enormous outlay in dam construction, in power plants, etc. The question of raising money needed for the development may pose serious problem even when the project has been found practicable from engineering and market point of view.
(3) Technical Knowledge and Skill: The generation of hydropower requires high degree of technical knowledge and skill.
(4) Transport: The facilities for carrying materials to the power site at a reasonable cost should be present in order to develop hydropower.
Locals hypothesize that the legacy of Italian blood and culture in Cologne, colonized by the Romans more than 1500 years ago, makes the people more jovial and lighthearted. Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine.
Kolsch is not only the dialect spoken here but, also the name of their own top-fermented beer. There are more than 4,000 pubs, restaurant's and brewery taverns in Cologne.
Unlike many of the world's large cities, Cologne, with a population of over a million, gets better every day, there are more things to do and see, more new and innovative buildings... more
Travel is an opportunity to learn, whether geography, languages, history or other subjects.
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Cologne is situated on the beautiful Rhine River.