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Niagara Falls, a cherished site of New York beauty as well as a powerful hydroelectric resource. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORKElectricity powers the subway rides of millions of New Yorkers every single day, but few give a thought to where this electricity comes from or how it gets to the trains.

Electricity, a new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum, covers all aspects of electricity and the subway system, including the origins of electric rail, where New York's electricity comes from, and how that electricity gets transmitted over long distances.

It's our first time incorporating science, said Regina Asborno, the museum's deputy director.

Electric Rail's Origin

Thomas Edison built an electric railway prototype in 1880 in his Menlo Park, N.J., lab. This was the first use of electrified rails to power trains.

Within a few years, the conversion of New York City's (NYC) elevated trains from coal-burning steam locomotives was underway, reads a display. The city's subway and railroads were soon to follow.

The exhibit tells the story of modern components that have replaced obsolete ones. For example, rotary converters, used in NYC's first subway in 1904 through 1999, have been replaced with silicon diode rectifiers. The display also includes a 1917 Rehostat, or voltage output regulator, made by General Electric, and rotary converter brushes from 1990.

From Power Plant to Train

One display traces the path of long distance electricity transmission. Starting from a p! ower pla nt, electricity goes to a transformer station and then moves through high-voltage power lines. As it reaches the city, the electricity runs through another transformer. It then reaches a substation, where it is changed from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). Neighborhood transformers decrease the output from 625 volts to between 120 and 220. The electricity is now ready for use in the subway, homes, or businesses.

About 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity are used to move 1.6 billion subway riders annually. Although this amount seems high, New Yorkers consume energy at approximately a quarter of the national average, notes a diagram.

Origin of New York's electricity

A pro-wind power banner on the side of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise as it is docked on the west side of Manhattan, Oct. 1, 2005. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

More than half of New York state's (NYS) electricity is generated using sources other than conventional fossil fuel, including one-third nuclear power and 20 percent hydro power. In contrast, the United States as a whole uses fossil fuel for 69 percent of its energy, nuclear for 20 percent, and hydro for 7 percent.

A map at the exhibit pinpoints the seven power plants that provide electricity for NYS. Four are natural gas plants (Ravenswood, Northport, Qswego, and Astoria), two nuclear (Nine Mile and Indian Point), and one hydropower (Robert Moses Niagara). Underneath the map are graphs showing the positive and negative aspects of the different types of power plants. Factors li! sted are land usage, cost, and carbon emissions.

Insert Green Space Here

Each source of energy has an interactive exhibit, including wind and solar; a small-scale wind turbine powers a generator, a dam simulates hydropower, and adjustable solar panels are displayed with meters displaying energy output. Nuclear and fossil fuel each have a sizeable diagram. An information box on the nuclear diagram questions whether nuclear is green, saying, Nuclear power produces very few carbon emissions. However, splitting atoms creates radioactive waste that is difficult to dispose of and can harm humans and the environment.