U.K. Blackout Probe Is Rich in Jargon Dating Back to Isaac Newton
- Power plant inertia vital to keeping networks balanced
- Rise of renewables has reduced the amount of system inertia
Photographer: Yui Mok/PA Images/Getty Images
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In National Grid Plc’s analysis of Britain’s worst blackout in a decade, one bit of jargon appears throughout that few outside of the power industry will be familiar with.
It’s “inertia” and it plays a vital role in keeping your lights on. Described by Isaac Newton in his first law of motion back in 1686, it’s the concept in physics whereby a moving object will keep moving until a force such as friction causes it to do otherwise, or an object at rest will stay at rest.