An off-grid Antarctic research station receives its electrical power from a wind turbine located 5 km away. To transmit this power with minimal loss, a step-up transformer is installed at the turbine, and a step-down transformer is installed at the research station.
Explain, using appropriate physics principles and equations, how this configuration of transformers minimises the energy dissipated as thermal energy in the transmission cables. Furthermore, describe one specific construction feature of the transformer core and explain how it reduces internal energy losses within the transformer itself.