I can give at least one other way: chemical reaction (a battery for example)
there are also thermoelectric junctions (thermocouple), piezoelectricity (mechanically manipulating crystaline materials), triboelectricity (transfer of charge by different materials touching each other, like when you rub your socks on carpet and get a shock or in a van de graaff machine), charging by induction (in devices like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oGSWzkXhs0 for example)
but from a ‘practical’ point of view, moving magnets is the best way to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Solar cells convert light directly to electrical energy with low efficiency, but it might be better to use say a solar furnace to heat water to drive turbines to run conventional generators.
No. A static generator and an electrochemical reaction are two other ways. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimshurst_machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zilvl9tS0Og
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_%28electricity%29
I can give at least one other way: chemical reaction (a battery for example)
there are also thermoelectric junctions (thermocouple), piezoelectricity (mechanically manipulating crystaline materials), triboelectricity (transfer of charge by different materials touching each other, like when you rub your socks on carpet and get a shock or in a van de graaff machine), charging by induction (in devices like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oGSWzkXhs0 for example)
but from a ‘practical’ point of view, moving magnets is the best way to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Solar cells convert light directly to electrical energy with low efficiency, but it might be better to use say a solar furnace to heat water to drive turbines to run conventional generators.