Why is steam used to turn turbines into power stations?

Turbines can be driven by wind, combustion products, liquid, steam, or gas. The advantage of steam turbines is that water goes through a phase change from liquid to steam making design simpler. Steam turbines are usually stationary power plants because of their size and weight. Portable and semi-portable generators are more likely to use gas turbines. Most of the generators we have installed in Iran and Iraq have been gas turbines. The temperature of the medium has a lot to do with turbine efficiency. For efficiency most modern steam turbine power plants use supercritical steam at around 600C and over 3,000 PSI. For nuclear power even higher efficiency is possible using noble gas or molten salts for cooling. Noble gas does not react with reactor materials (steam systems have problems with hydrogen hardening of coolent plumbing), noble gases do not become radioactive from neutron radiation and running at 1,000C has higher efficiency. Fluoride salt has a melting point of 1,400C and has the advantage of running at high temperature without the pressures necessary in supercritical steam and noble gas circuits.

Turbines can be driven by wind, combustion products, liquid, steam, or gas. The advantage of steam turbines is that water goes through a phase change from liquid to steam making design simpler. Steam turbines are usually stationary power plants because of their size and weight. Portable and semi-portable generators are more likely to use gas turbines. Most of the generators we have installed in Iran and Iraq have been gas turbines. The temperature of the medium has a lot to do with turbine efficiency. For efficiency most modern steam turbine power plants use supercritical steam at around 600C and over 3,000 PSI. For nuclear power even higher efficiency is possible using noble gas or molten salts for cooling. Noble gas does not react with reactor materials (steam systems have problems with hydrogen hardening of coolent plumbing), noble gases do not become radioactive from neutron radiation and running at 1,000C has higher efficiency. Fluoride salt has a melting point of 1,400C and has the advantage of running at high temperature without the pressures necessary in supercritical steam and noble gas circuits.