[Carry_Okie]

Picture those big rotating generators straining like mules to pull all those electrons out to your house. They normally do it 60 times per second, but when they get bogged down to 59.2, they will have to be shot.

I understood that. I was talking about the inductance in the armature windings being the reason for the criticality.

Can you see when one of the generators has a hiccough or starts to lug in a scope trace or is the back EMF enough to keep them all in synch until one overheats?

[Benrand]

Good question. But wouldn't the propagation in the local area be enough to carry the failing generator? Or wouldn't it matter if there were widespread demand overr-runs.

I would say that if one goes, they all go, or more than the single flameout.

[snopercod]

The generators have "exciters" [analagous to the voltage regulator on your automobile] which make them pull harder or slack off a bit. The control system for the exciter monitors the grid frequency, and load demand signals. Most spin at 3600 RPM, although the big nukes can spin at 1800.

IOW, it's all magic.