Energy Exploration
Physics
Energy Exploration Project Energy can be stored in many forms as potential energy. It can be extracted through chemical and mechanical processes to get usable energy. We use that kinetic energy and electricity every day to power our lights, run our cars and do most of our tasks. Fossil Fuel is a non-renewable energy source. It results from the decomposition of dead and buried organisms. They are millions of years old and are fossilized under rock and sand. They are efficient energy producers, however, they also produce carbon dioxide, a pollutant. Their energy is released through combustion where heat starts an exothermic reaction. The hydrogen and carbon molecules react chemically to produce heat. Fossil fuels like natural gas can be used as a heat source directly, taking the heat they create to warm homes. It is more common to use fossil fuels to create electricity. The combustion heats water which creates steam which turns turbines connected to generators which create electricity. Nuclear energy can be very dangerous but can also be cleaner than other energy sources by creating less pollution than fossil fuels. It is an advanced form of energy that has only been available for the past 50 years. It is very similar to fossil fuel in that it uses steam turbines to produce electricity. It uses uranium to produce heat in a process called nuclear fission where neutrons are smashed into the nucleus of atoms splitting them and releasing heat energy. Hydroelectric energy is a renewable source. It can come from fast moving water or a dam can be created to drop water and increase its speed. Dams raise the height of water on the upstream side of the dam, giving it more gravitational potential energy. The water then drops through pipes in the dam transferring the potential energy to kinetic energy. The water hits turbines which turn generators changing the kinetic energy into electricity. Unlike other energy sources, harnessing solar power has no harms.
Energy Exploration Project Energy can be stored in many forms as potential energy. It can be extracted through chemical and mechanical processes to get usable energy. We use that kinetic energy and electricity every day to power our lights, run our cars and do most of our tasks. Fossil Fuel is a non-renewable energy source. It results from the decomposition of dead and buried organisms. They are millions of years old and are fossilized under rock and sand. They are efficient energy producers, however, they also produce carbon dioxide, a pollutant. Their energy is released through combustion where heat starts an exothermic reaction. The hydrogen and carbon molecules react chemically to produce heat. Fossil fuels like natural gas can be used as a heat source directly, taking the heat they create to warm homes. It is more common to use fossil fuels to create electricity. The combustion heats water which creates steam which turns turbines connected to generators which create electricity. Nuclear energy can be very dangerous but can also be cleaner than other energy sources by creating less pollution than fossil fuels. It is an advanced form of energy that has only been available for the past 50 years. It is very similar to fossil fuel in that it uses steam turbines to produce electricity. It uses uranium to produce heat in a process called nuclear fission where neutrons are smashed into the nucleus of atoms splitting them and releasing heat energy. Hydroelectric energy is a renewable source. It can come from fast moving water or a dam can be created to drop water and increase its speed. Dams raise the height of water on the upstream side of the dam, giving it more gravitational potential energy. The water then drops through pipes in the dam transferring the potential energy to kinetic energy. The water hits turbines which turn generators changing the kinetic energy into electricity. Unlike other energy sources, harnessing solar power has no harms.
Cited: "0910GlobalOilRelease | UK Energy Research Centre." Home | UK Energy Research Centre. Enmore Services, 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.ukerc.ac.uk/support/tiki-index.php?page=0910GlobalOilRelease>. Brain, Marshall, and Robert Lamb "ELECTRICITY IN THE UK." Postnote. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Feb. 2007. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn280.pdf>. "Energy Numbers." Energy_numbers.pdf