solar energy
Solar Absorbers and the Future of Electricity
Solar Absorbers and the Future of Electricity
By James Folta
Electricity is what we use to power things at home or at school. You can probably look around right now and see an electrical outlet or two. Everything that we plug into one of these outlets uses electricity. But where does this electricity come from? Right now we have a few ways to make electricity. Some are better than others. There are some scientists who are trying to find new ways to get electricity that are better for the planet Earth. Most electricity is generated by machines that are run by steam. Making a lot of steam is the hard part. Water has to be heated up so that it boils and becomes steam. In the United States, we burn a lot of different things to create this steam. The most common things that are burned are oil, gas, and coal. The United States uses a lot of electricity and so we burn a lot of oil, gas, and coal. In 2012, the United States of America used more oil and gas than any other country in the world and was number two in the world for using coal. The problem with using these things is that burning them can be harmful and damaging to the
Earth. Also, there is only a certain amount of coal, gas, and oil in the world, and they are running out very quickly. We can't make more of them. What happens when they run out?
How else can we get electricity? There are some people who are trying to answer this question. There are many scientists who are developing different methods of getting electricity. One of these people is Jeff Chou, who is a scientist and researcher working on new ways of getting electricity. Jeff works at MIT, which
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Solar Absorbers and the Future of Electricity
stands for Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a university in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. MIT is very
Solar Absorbers and the Future of Electricity
By James Folta
Electricity is what we use to power things at home or at school. You can probably look around right now and see an electrical outlet or two. Everything that we plug into one of these outlets uses electricity. But where does this electricity come from? Right now we have a few ways to make electricity. Some are better than others. There are some scientists who are trying to find new ways to get electricity that are better for the planet Earth. Most electricity is generated by machines that are run by steam. Making a lot of steam is the hard part. Water has to be heated up so that it boils and becomes steam. In the United States, we burn a lot of different things to create this steam. The most common things that are burned are oil, gas, and coal. The United States uses a lot of electricity and so we burn a lot of oil, gas, and coal. In 2012, the United States of America used more oil and gas than any other country in the world and was number two in the world for using coal. The problem with using these things is that burning them can be harmful and damaging to the
Earth. Also, there is only a certain amount of coal, gas, and oil in the world, and they are running out very quickly. We can't make more of them. What happens when they run out?
How else can we get electricity? There are some people who are trying to answer this question. There are many scientists who are developing different methods of getting electricity. One of these people is Jeff Chou, who is a scientist and researcher working on new ways of getting electricity. Jeff works at MIT, which
© 2013 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Solar Absorbers and the Future of Electricity
stands for Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a university in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. MIT is very