A system for the generation of electrical power through the interaction of a flowing, electrically conducting fluid with a magnetic field. As in a conventional electrical generator, the Faraday principle of motional induction is employed, but solid conductors are replaced by an electrically conducting fluid. The interactions between this conducting fluid and the electromagnetic field system through which power is delivered to a circuit are determined by the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, while the properties of electrically conducting gases or plasmas are established from the appropriate relationships of plasma physics. Major emphasis has been placed on MHD systems utilizing an ionized gas, but an electrically conducting liquid or a two-phase flow can also be employed.