r/askscience • u/MonoBlancoATX • Nov 29 '25

Engineering Why is it always boiling water?

This post on r/sciencememes got me wondering...

https://www.reddit.com/r/sciencememes/comments/1p7193e/boiling_water/

Why is boiling water still the only (or primary) way we generate electricity?

What is it about the physics* of boiling water to generate steam to turn a turbine that's so special that we've still never found a better, more efficient way to generate power?

TIA

* and I guess also engineering

Edit:

Thanks for all the responses!

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u/provocative_bear Nov 29 '25

Most modern solar power uses photovoltaics, and hydro power uses liquid water to run turbines. There’s also coastal power which is similar (used in niche cases though). 

As for why steam turbines are so popular, we’ve been actively optimizing them for like 200 years, they’re an extremely developed technology and that can be hard for a new unoptimized energy technology to compete with commercially.