Environmental Engineering Reference
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Figure 4.50. Japanese macaque, better known as snow monkeys, taking a warm bath in
a hot spring. Source: Fg2 at Wikimedia Commons.
The oldest known spa was built in China during the Qin dynasty (third century BCE),
and this practice spread throughout Europe under the Romans, who had a particular
fondness for hot water.
The Devil's Power Plant
With steam hissing from the rocks, and a whiff of sulphur in the air, it is little wonder
that a certain Italian valley came to be known as Valle del Diavolo. The ancient Romans,
unperturbed by fear of demons, were the first to take a dip in the hot mineral-rich pools
around the modern village of Larderello. Two millennia later, this became the site of
the world's first geothermal electricity plant. An entrepreneur, Prince Piero Ginori Conti,
used the volcanic springs as a source of boric acid for chemical manufacturing, before
hitting upon the idea of driving a turbine with the geothermal steam. For the next four
decades Larderello was the world's only geothermal power plant. One hundred years later,
Larderello is still steaming away, producing a tenth of the world's geothermal power and
servicing about a million Italian homes.
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