HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 10, 2014) -- Seventeen students from Nashville General Hospital School of Radiology at Murrey Medical College received a hands-on review of principles in electricity when they took an in-depth tour of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District's Old Hickory Lock and Dam.
The students viewed the four, 25-megawatt generating units from several vantage points throughout the powerhouse and learned about the underlying principles of induction and electromagnetism.
Jeff Tillotson, clinical coordinator for Nashville General Hospital Health Sciences Education, said he and his colleague were thrilled that their students saw the rotor and stator assembly in action.
"Our X-ray tubes feature an induction motor with a similar construction, though on a smaller scale," said Tillotson.
Tillotson added that the powerhouse operators set up a great segue to their next lecture in electricity when they spoke about the importance of transformers in stepping down or up electricity.
Since 2012, the Nashville District has made a substantial effort to raise public interest and provided access to several of its powerhouses and navigation locks on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.
"We like the public to take an interest in our dams since they are an important supplier of supplemental power during peak hours for the local community," said Randy Crabtree, superintendent at Old Hickory and J. Percy Priest Dam. "Our powerhouse is always busy with projects and we enjoy and encourage school groups, clubs and other interest groups to schedule a tour with us."
For more information about Old Hickory Lock and Dam Tours or to schedule a group tour please contact the Old Hickory Lake Resource Manager's Office at (615) 822-4846 or (615) 847-2395.
For more news, information and updates please follow the Nashville District on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and Old Hickory Lake at http://www.facebook.com/oldhickorylake.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Nashville District
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