Transformers have long been the unsung heroes of power systems. These items are an important part of our energy distribution system and they can arguably lay claim to being one of the first green energy devices.

Power generation, for many, is a black art that is peppered with common words that have uncommon meanings.  Indeed, many a person could not tell his alternator from his exciter, and the prospect of a fault with his up-shaft conductors could cause any self respecting power station engineer to break out into a sweat!

We will have all seen the graceful modern Quixotian structures that appear to spring up overnight, like mushrooms, by our roadsides.  How many of us, however, have thought about what is inside these seemingly gentle giants?  We all know that they convert wind energy into electricity but how many of us have thought, in detail, about how they work?