Energy Resources
By: Steve • Research Paper • 4,019 Words • March 9, 2010 • 1,229 Views
Energy Resources
Energy Resources
What is Energy?
Energy is the ability to do work.
Forms of Energy:
Energy can be found in a number of different forms. It can be;
1. Chemical Energy,
2. Electrical Energy,
3. Heat (Thermal Energy),
4. Light (Radiant Energy),
5. Mechanical Energy,
6. Nuclear Energy.
7. Wind Energy.
8. Ocean Energy (Tidal, Wave and OCT)
9. Gee Thermal Energy
10. Biomass Energy.
11. Fossil Fuel Energy
12. Hydro Thermal Energy
13. etc.
Types of Energy:
Energy makes everything happen and can be divided into two types:
• Stored Energy is called Potential Energy.
• Moving Energy is called Kinetic Energy.
How Do We Measure Energy?
Energy is measured in many ways, which include:
1. Btu: Stands for British thermal unit
п‚° Btu is the amount of heat energy it takes to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit, at sea level.
п‚° One Btu equals about one blue-tip kitchen match.
2. Joules The term "joule" is named after an English scientist James Prescott Joule who lived from 1818 to 1889. He discovered that heat is a type of energy.
п‚° One joule is the amount of energy needed to lift something weighing one pound to a height of nine inches.
п‚° So, if you lifted a five-pound sack of sugar from the floor to the top of a counter (27 inches), you would use about 15 joules of energy.
1 Btu = 1,000 joules = 1 kilojoule
Changing Energy:
пЃ“ Energy can be transformed into another sort of energy.
пЃ“ But it cannot be created AND it cannot be destroyed.
пЃ“ Energy has always existed in one form or another.
Here are some changes in energy from one form to another.
пЃ’ Stored energy in a flashlight's batteries becomes light energy when the flashlight is turned on.
пЃ’ Food is stored energy. It is stored as a chemical with potential energy. When your body uses that stored energy to do work, it becomes kinetic energy.
пЃ’ When you talk on the phone, your voice is transformed into electrical energy, which passes over wires (or is transmitted through the air). The phone on the other end changes the electrical energy into sound energy through the speaker.
пЃ’ A car uses stored chemical energy in gasoline to move. The engine changes the chemical energy into heat and kinetic energy to power the car.
пЃ’ A toaster changes electrical energy into heat and light energy. (If you look into the toaster, you'll see the glowing wires.)
пЃ’ A television changes electrical energy into light and sound energy.
HEAT ENERGY
Heat is a form of energy. We use it for a lot of things, like warming our homes and cooking our food.
Heat energy moves in three ways:
1. Conduction
2. Convection
3. Radiation } Dosen’t Requir any Medium to Move
1. Conduction: Takes place in solids
п‚ў Metals are excellent conductors of heat energy.
п‚ў Wood or plastics are not.
п‚ў These "bad" conductors are called insulators.
п‚ў That's why a pan is usually made of metal