Everybody wants to talk about the technology of steampunk but never what fuel is needed to run it. It's coal btw. Might as well call that shit coal-fantasy.
"uhhh... oh, that's not coal smoke, it's steam! steam from the steamed punks we're having! mmmm, steamed punks!"
ever since i found out that nuclear plants produce power by just making steam really fast, and therefore nuclear power is also steampunk, i've been so mad about this
There's really only two ways to make electricity:
- Fake photosynthesis (solar panels)
- Make a thing go spinny
To make a thing spin, some sort of fluid needs to push it. Hydroelectric plants use the energy in water going down (gravity is probably the only true infinitely renewable energy source out there), for example, wind directly makes a thing spin, and then everyone else makes a gas hot, and the hotter the gas the more it likes to move around and push against stuff, such as a thing that can spin.
It doesn't have to be (water) steam, but it usually is, since water is 1. easy to get on Earth 2. cheap 3. usually does not catch on fire, especially when heated.
(i did read a steampunk novel recently where things had an energy source that was a magic rock so i think it was more nuclear-steampunk than coal-steampunk but maybe they haven't figured out ionizing radiation is a thing yet which oops thats gonna suck for everyone since everyone has several tiny nuclear reactors in their house)
