what does it mean to "generate" electrical energy?

Question

anonymous · Answer

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_it_mean_by_generate_electricity

anonymous · Answer

http://www.blurtit.com/q172553.html check this one is more information

anonymous · Answer

Sigh.  I'm consistently disappointed by wiki answers and yahoo answers and all those other sites. 

The basic idea is that energy from some other place is used to create an electric potential difference, which can then be used to power a circuit.  A household battery is an example of chemical potential energy being converted to electric potential energy.  Power plants use heat to boil water and create steam, which turns a turbine to generate an AC potential difference (by a process you may learn about later called electromagnetic induction).  Windmills can be used for the same thing.