CHAPTER VI 

 WATER POWER 



Through the ages, water has served man in many ways. 

 Ocean and lake have supplied fish to feed him. Stored and 

 then carried long distances by man's ingenuity, water has 

 transformed deserts into wonderlands of growing crops. 

 Up and down rivers and across the oceans have gone great 

 ships to gather and distribute the food and other materials 

 that man needs. 



But there is one great use of water that man was slow 

 to profit by. For ages the streams of the world have gone 

 roaring and swirling down to the sea unhindered, and 

 power equal to that of countless millions of horses has 

 been wasted. Now, however, man is seeing in the whirling, 

 tossing rapids and waterfalls, not only beauties of nature, 

 but also the white coal of the future that will largely take 

 the place of our diminishing coal beds. 



In the streams of this country alone is unused power 

 sufficient to drive, twice over, all our factories and trans- 

 portation systems. And along the seacoasts where tides 

 are high, as in the Bay of Fundy, men are taking the first 

 steps to harness the limitless power of the ocean. Science 

 is making all this possible. 



Water, fuel and wind provide much of the energy used by 

 man in carrying on the activities of modern life. The energy of 

 falling water is transformed into the energy of motion by revolv- 

 ing water wheels, and this energy in turn is passed on in other 

 forms, such as light or electricity. The energy of fuel is released 

 by oxidation and is quickly transformed into the energy of light 

 and heat. The energy of wind is likewise changed into the energy 

 of motion, as seen in the movements of windmills. This energy, 

 in turn, may be changed into other forms. Of all these sources 

 of energy which drive the great power plants that make our 

 numerous industries possible, water stands next to fuel in 



importance. 



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