What is Energy?

Energy causes things to happen around us. Look out the window. The sun
radiates light and heat energy. It helps plants to grow. At night, lamps in our
home use electrical energy to light our rooms. When a car drives by, it is being
powered by gasoline, a type of stored energy. The food we eat contains energy.
We use that energy to work and play. We learned the definition of energy in the
introduction:

Energy Is the Ability to Do Work.

Energy can be found in a number of different forms. It can be chemical energy,

electrical energy, heat (thermal energy), light (radiant energy), mechanical
energy, and nuclear energy.

Stored and Moving Energy

Energy makes everything happen and can be divided into two types:

• Stored energy is called potential energy.

• Moving energy is called kinetic energy.
With a pencil, try this example to know the two types of energy. Put the pencil
at the edge of the desk and push it off to the floor. The moving pencil uses
kinetic energy. Now, pick up the pencil and put it back on the desk. You used
your own energy to lift and move the pencil. Moving it higher than the floor adds
energy to it. As it rests on the desk, the pencil has potential energy. The higher
it is, the further it could fall. That means the pencil has more potential energy.

How Do We Measure Energy?

Energy is measured in many ways. One of the basic measuring blocks is called a
Btu. This stands for British thermal unit and was invented by, of course, the
English. 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. One Btu equals
about one blue-tip kitchen match. One thousand Btus roughly equals: One
average candy bar or 4/5 of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It takes about
2,000 Btus to make a pot of coffee. Energy also can be measured in joules.
Joules sounds exactly like the word jewels, as in diamonds and emeralds. A
thousand joules is equal to a British thermal unit. 1,000 joules = 1 Btu. So, it
would take 2 million joules to make a pot of coffee.

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.

One joule is the amount of energy needed to lift something weighing one pound
to a height of nine inches. 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.

Around the world, scientists measure energy in joules rather than Btus. It's
much like people around the world using the metric system of meters and
kilograms, instead of the English system of feet and pounds.

Like in the metric system, you can have kilojoules -- "kilo" means 1,000.

1,000 joules = 1 kilojoule = 1 Btu

A piece of buttered toast contains about 315 kilojoules (315,000 joules) of

energy. With that energy you could:

• Jog for 6 minutes

• Bicycle for 10 minutes
• Walk briskly for 15 minutes
• Sleep for 1-1/2 hours
• Run a car for 7 seconds at 80 kilometers per hour (about 50 miles per
hour)
 • Light a 60-watt light bulb for 1-1/2 hours
• Or lift that sack of sugar from the floor to the counter 21,000 times!

Changing Energy

Food Energy

Energy changes form at each step in

the food chain. Take an ear of corn as
an example.
Sunlight is taken in by the leaves on
the corn stalk and transformed
through photosynthesis. The plant
takes in sunlight and combines it with
carbon dioxide from the air and water
and minerals from the ground.

The plant grows tall and creates the

ears of corn - its seeds. The energy of
the sunlight is stored in the leaves
and inside the corn kernels. The corn
kernels are full of energy stored as
sugars and starch. The corn is
harvested and is fed to chickens and
other animals. The chickens use the
stored energy in the corn on the cob
to grow and to move. Some energy is
stored in the animal in its muscle
tissue (protein) and in the fat.

The chicken reaches maturity, a

farmer slaughters it and prepares it to
be sold. It's transported to the grocery
store. Your parents buy the chicken at
the supermarket, bring it home and
cook it (using energy).

You then eat the chicken's meat and

fat and convert that stored energy
into energy in your own body. Maybe
you ate the chicken at a picnic. Then
you went and played baseball. You're
using the energy from that chicken to
swing the bat, run the bases and
throw the ball.

As your body uses the energy from

the chicken, you breathe in oxygen
and exhale carbon dioxide. That
carbon dioxide is then used by other
plants to grow.

So, it's a big circle!

 using the energy from that chicken to
swing the bat, run the bases and
throw the ball.

As your body uses the energy from

the chicken, you breathe in oxygen
and exhale carbon dioxide. That
carbon dioxide is then used by other
plants to grow.

So, it's a big circle!

Energy can be transformed into another sort of energy. But it cannot be created
AND it cannot be destroyed. Energy has always existed in one form or another.
Here are some changes in energy from one form to another. Stored energy in a
flashlight's batteries becomes light energy when the flashlight is turned on. 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. If you
overeat, the energy in food is not "burned" but is stored as potential energy in
fat cells. 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. 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. A
toaster changes electrical energy into heat and light energy. (If you look into the
toaster, you'll see the glowing wires.) 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

Conduction occurs when energy is passed directly from one item to another. If
you stirred a pan of soup on the stove with a metal spoon, the spoon will heat
up. The heat is being conducted from the hot area of the soup to the colder area
of spoon. Metals are excellent conductors of heat energy. Wood or plastics are
not. These "bad" conductors are called insulators. That's why a pan is usually
made of metal while the handle is made of a strong plastic. Convection is the
movement of gases or liquids from a cooler spot to a warmer spot. If a soup pan
is made of glass, we could see the movement of convection currents in the pan.
The warmer soup moves up from the heated area at the bottom of the pan to
the top where it is cooler. The cooler soup then moves to take the warmer soup's
place. The movement is in a circular pattern within the pan (see picture above).

The wind we feel outside is often the result of convection currents. You can
understand this by the winds you feel near an ocean. Warm air is lighter than
cold air and so it rises. During the daytime, cool air over water moves to replace
the air rising up as the land warms the air over it. During the nighttime, the
directions change -- the surface of the water is sometimes warmer and the land
is cooler. Radiation is the final form of movement of heat energy. The sun's light
and heat cannot reach us by conduction or convection because space is almost
completely empty. There is nothing to transfer the energy from the sun to the
earth. The sun's rays travel in straight lines called heat rays. When it moves that
way, it is called radiation. When sunlight hits the earth, its radiation is absorbed
or reflected. Darker surfaces absorb more of the radiation and lighter surfaces
reflect the radiation. So you would be cooler if you wear light or white clothes in
the summer.
What Is Electricity?

Electricity figures everywhere in our lives. Electricity lights up our homes, cooks
our food, powers our computers, television sets, and other electronic devices.
Electricity from batteries keeps our cars running and makes our flashlights shine
in the dark. Here's something you can do to see the importance of electricity.
Take a walk through your school, house or apartment and write down all the
different appliances, devices and machines that use electricity. You'll be amazed
at how many things we use each and every day that depend on electricity. But
what is electricity? Where does it come from? How does it work? Before we
understand all that, we need to know a little bit about atoms and their
structure.
All matter is made up of atoms, and atoms are made up of smaller particles. The
three main particles making up an atom are the proton, the neutron and the
electron. Electrons spin around the center, or nucleus, of atoms, in the same
way the moon spins around the earth. The nucleus is made up of neutrons and
protons. Electrons contain a negative charge, protons a positive charge.
Neutrons are neutral -- they have neither a positive nor a negative charge. There
are many different kinds of atoms, one for each type of element. An atom is a
single part that makes up an element. There are 118 different known elements
that make up every thing! Some elements like oxygen we breathe are essential
to life.

Each atom has a specific number of electrons, protons and neutrons. But no
matter how many particles an atom has, the number of electrons usually needs
to be the same as the number of protons. If the numbers are the same, the
atom is called balanced, and it is very stable. So, if an atom had six protons, it
should also have six electrons. The element with six protons and six electrons is
called carbon. Carbon is found in abundance in the sun, stars, comets,
atmospheres of most planets, and the food we eat. Coal is made of carbon; so
are diamonds. Some kinds of atoms have loosely attached electrons. An atom
that loses electrons has more protons than electrons and is positively charged.
An atom that gains electrons has more negative particles and is negatively
charge. A "charged" atom is called an "ion."

Electrons can be made to move from one atom to another. When those electrons
move between the atoms, a current of electricity is created. The electrons move
from one atom to another in a "flow." One electron is attached and another
electron is lost. This chain is similar to the fire fighter's bucket brigades in olden
times. But instead of passing one bucket from the start of the line of people to
the other end, each person would have a bucket of water to pour from one
bucket to another. The result was a lot of spilled water and not enough water to
douse the fire. It is a situation that's very similar to electricity passing along a
wire and a circuit. The charge is passed from atom to atom when electricity is
"passed." Scientists and engineers have learned many ways to move electrons
off of atoms. That means that when you add up the electrons and protons, you
would wind up with one more proton instead of being balanced. Since all atoms
want to be balanced, the atom that has been "unbalanced" will look for a free
electron to fill the place of the missing one. We say that this unbalanced atom
has a "positive charge" (+) because it has too many protons. Since it got kicked
off, the free electron moves around waiting for an unbalanced atom to give it a
home. The free electron charge is negative, and has no proton to balance it out,
so we say that it has a "negative charge" (-). So what do positive and negative
charges have to do with electricity?
 Where Does the Word 'Electricity'
Come From?
Electrons, electricity, electronic and other
words that begin with "electr..." all
originate from the Greek word "elektor,"
meaning "beaming sun." In Greek,
"elektron" is the word for amber.
Amber is a very pretty goldish brown
"stone" that sparkles orange and yellow in
sunlight. Amber is actually fossilized tree
sap! It's the stuff used in the movie
"Jurassic Park." Millions of years ago
insects got stuck in the tree sap. Small
insects which had bitten the dinosaurs,
had blood with DNA from the dinosaurs in
the insect's bodies, which were now
fossilized in the amber.
Ancient Greeks discovered that amber
behaved oddly - like attracting feathers -
when rubbed by fur or other objects. They
didn't know what it was that caused this
phenomenon. But the Greeks had
discovered one of the first examples of
static electricity (see Chapter 3).
The Latin word, electricus, means to
"produce from amber by friction."
So, we get our English word electricity
from Greek and Latin words that were
about amber.
Scientists and engineers have found several ways to create large numbers of
positive atoms and free negative electrons. Since positive atoms want negative
electrons so they can be balanced, they have a strong attraction for the
electrons. The electrons also want to be part of a balanced atom, so they have a
strong attraction to the positive atoms. So, the positive attracts the negative to
balance out. The more positive atoms or negative electrons you have, the
stronger the attraction for the other. Since we have both positive and negative
charged groups attracted to each other, we call the total attraction "charge."
When electrons move among the atoms of matter, a current of electricity is
created. This is what happens in a piece of wire. The electrons are passed from
atom to atom, creating an electrical current from one end to other, just like in
the picture. Electricity is conducted through some things better than others do.
Its resistance measures how well something conducts electricity. Some things
hold their electrons very tightly. Electrons do not move through them very well.
These things are called insulators. Rubber, plastic, cloth, glass and dry air are
good insulators and have very high resistance. Other materials have some
loosely held electrons, which move through them very easily. These are called
conductors. Most metals -- like copper, aluminum or steel -- are good
conductors.

Resistance and Static Electricity

As we have learned, some kinds of atoms contain loosely attached electrons.

Electrons can be made to move easily from one atom to another. When those
electrons move among the atoms of matter, a current of electricity is created.
Take a piece of wire. The electrons are passed from atom to atom, creating an
electrical current from one end to the other. Electrons are very, very small. A
single copper penny contains more than 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
(1x1022) electrons. Electricity "flows" or moves through some things better than
others do. The measurement of how well something conducts electricity is called
its resistance.

Resistance in wire depends on how thick and how long it is, and what it's made
of. The thickness of wire is called its guage. The smaller the guage, the bigger
the wire. Some of the largest thicknesses of regular wire is guage 1. Different
types of metal are used in making wire. You can have copper wire, aluminum
wire, even steel wire. Each of these metals has a different resistance; how well
the metal conducts electricity. The lower the resistance of a wire, the better it
conducts electricity. Copper is used in many wires because it has a lower
resistance than many other metals. The wires in your walls, inside your lamps
and elsewhere are usually copper. A piece of metal can be made to act like a
heater. When an electrical current occurs, the resistance causes friction and the
friction causes heat. The higher the resistance, the hotter it can get. So, a coiled
wire high in resistance, like the wire in a hair dryer, can be very hot. Some
things conduct electricity very poorly. These are called insulators. Rubber is a
good insulator, and that's why rubber is used to cover wires in an electric cord.
Glass is another good insulator. If you look at the end of a power line, you'll see
that it is attached to some bumpy looking things. These are glass insulators.
They keep the metal of the wires from touching the metal of the towers.

Static Electricity

Another type of electrical energy is static electricity. Unlike current electricity

that moves, static electricity stays in one place.

Try this experiment...

Rub a balloon filled with air on a wool sweater or on your hair. Then hold it up to
a wall. The balloon will stay there by itself.

Tie strings to the ends of two balloons. Now rub the two balloons together, hold
them by strings at the end and put them next to each other. They'll move apart.
Rubbing the balloons gives them static electricity. When you rub the balloon it
picks up extra electrons from the sweater or your hair and becomes slightly
negatively charged. The negative charges in the single balloon are attracted to
the positive charges in the wall. The two balloons hanging by strings both have
negative charges. Negative charges always repel negative charges and positive
always repels positive charges. So, the two balloons' negative charges "push"
each other apart. Static electricity can also give you a shock. If you walk across a
carpet, shuffling your feet and touching something made of metal, a spark can
jump between you and the metal object. Shuffling your feet picks up additional
electrons spread over your body. When you touch a metal doorknob or
something with a positive charge the electricity jumps across the small gap from
your fingers just before you touch the metal knob. If you walk across a carpet
and touch a computer case, you can damage the computer.
One other type of static electricity is very spectacular. It's the lightning in a
thunder and lightning storm. Clouds become negatively charged as ice crystals
inside the clouds rub up against each other. Meanwhile, on the ground, the
positive charge increases. The clouds get so highly charged that the electrons
jump from the ground to the cloud, or from one cloud to another cloud. This
causes a huge spark of static electricity in the sky that we call lightning. You can
find out more about lightning at Web Weather for Kids - www.ucar.edu/40th/
webweather/

But What Is Static Electricity?

You'll remember from Chapter 2 that the word "electricity" came from the Greek
words "elektor," for "beaming sun" and "elektron," both words describing amber.
Amber is fossilized tree sap millions of years old and has hardened as hard as a
stone. Around 600 BCE (Before the Common Era) Greeks noticed a strange
effect: When rubbing "elektron" against a piece of fur, the amber would start
attracting particles of dust, feathers and straw. No one paid much attention to
this "strange effect" until about 1600 when Dr. William Gilbert investigated the
reactions of magnets and amber and discovered other objects can be made
"electric." Gilbert said that amber acquired what he called "resinous electricity"
when rubbed with fur. Glass, however, when rubbed with silk, acquired what he
termed "vitreous electricity." He thought that electricity repeled the same kind
and attracts the opposite kind of electricity. Gilbert and other scientists of that
time thought that the friction actually created the electricity (their word for the
electrical charge). In 1747, Benjamin Franklin in America and William Watson in
England both reached the same conclusion. They said all materials possess a
single kind of electrical "fluid." They didn't really know anything about atoms
and electrons, so they called how it behaved it a "fluid. They thought that this
fluid can penetrate matter freely and couldn't be created or destroyed. The two
men thought that the action of rubbing (like rubbing amber with fur) moves this
unseen fluid from one thing to another, electrifying both. Franklin defined the
fluid as positive and the lack of fluid as negative. Therefore, according to
Franklin, the direction of flow was from positive to negative. Today, we know
that the opposite is true. Electricity flows from negative to positive. Others took
the idea even further saying this that two fluids are involved. They said items
with the same fluid attract each other. And opposite types of fluid in objects will
make them repel each other. All of this was only partially right. This is how
scientific theories develop. Someone thinks of why something occurs and then
proposes an explanation. It can take centuries sometime to find the real truth.
Instead of electricity being a fluid, it is the movement of the charged particles
between the objects... the two objects are really exchanging electrons.

Circuits

Electrons with a negative charge, can't "jump" through the air to a positively
charged atom. They have to wait until there is a link or bridge between the
negative area and the positive area. We usually call this bridge a "circuit." When
a bridge is created, the electrons begin moving quickly. Depending on the
resistance of the material making up the bridge, they try to get across as fast as
they can. If you're not careful, too many electrons can go across at one time and
destroy the "bridge" or the circuit, in the process. In Chapter 3, we learned
about electrons and the attraction between positive and negative charges. We
also learned that we can create a bridge called a "circuit" between the charges.
We can limit the number of electrons crossing over the "circuit," by letting only a
certain number through at a time. And we can make electricity do something for
us while they are on their way. For example, we can "make" the electrons "heat"
a filament in a bulb, causing it to glow and give off light.
When we limit the number of electrons that can cross over our circuit, we say we
are giving it "resistance.". We "resist" letting all the electrons through. This
works something like a tollbooth on a freeway bridge. Copper wire is just one
type of bridge we use in circuits. Before electrons can move far, however, they
can collide with one of the atoms along the way. This slows them down or even
reverses their direction. As a result, they lose energy to the atoms. This energy
appears as heat, and the scattering is a resistance to the current. Think of the
bridge as a garden hose. The current of electricity is the water flowing in the
hose and the water pressure is the voltage of a circuit. The diameter of the hose
is the determining factor for the resistance. Current refers to the movement of
charges. In an electrical circuit - electrons move from the negative pole to the
positive. If you connected the positive pole of an electrical source to the negative
pole, you create a circuit. This charge changes into electrical energy when the
poles are connected in a circuit -- similar to connecting the two poles on opposite
ends of a battery. Along the circuit you can have a light bulb and an on-off
switch. The light bulb changes the electrical energy into light and heat energy.

Circuit Experiment
As a boy, Thomas Edison built a small laboratory in his cellar. His early
experiments helped develop a very inquisitive mind. His whole life was spent
thinking about how things work and dreaming up new inventions. The light bulb
and movie projector are just two of dozens of inventions. You can build a very
basic electrical circuit similar to what Edison may have crafted as a boy. And you
can find out what happens when a current is "open" compared with when it's
"closed."

Here's What You need:

1. Penlight bulb
2. Flashlight battery
3. Two 6" pieces of insulated wire (any kind will work)
4. Tape to keep the wire on the end of the battery
5. A small piece of thin flat metal to make a "switch"
6. Small block of wood

An Electrical Circuit
(From humorist Dave Barry's book
Dave Barry in Cyberspace)

"Electricity is supplied by the wall

socket, which is in turn connected to
the electrical company via big overhead
wires with squirrels running on them.

"A question many people ask ... is,

 An Electrical Circuit
(From humorist Dave Barry's book
Dave Barry in Cyberspace)

"Electricity is supplied by the wall

socket, which is in turn connected to
the electrical company via big overhead
wires with squirrels running on them.

"A question many people ask ... is,

'How come the squirrels don't get
electrocuted?' To answer that question,
we need to understand exactly what an
electrical circuit is.

"When you turn on a switch, electricity

flows through the wire into the
appliance, where it is converted via a
process called electrolysis into tiny
microwaves. These fly around inside
the oven area until they locate the
Hungry Hombre Heat 'n' Eat Hearty
Burrito entree; they then signal the
location to each other by slapping their
tails in a distinctive pattern. The
workers, or drones, then ... swarm
around the queen; this causes the
rapid warming that makes the entree
edible and leads via amino acids, to
digestion.

"This is followed by grunting and

flushing, with the outflow traveling via
underground pipes to the sewage
treatment plant, which in turn releases
purified water into the river, where it is
used to form waterfalls, which rotate
the giant turbines that produce the
electricity that flows through wires
back to your appliance, thereby
completing the circuit.

"So we see that squirrels have nothing

whatsoever to do with it. There is no
need for you to worry about squirrels;
believe me, they are not worrying
about you."

Please Note: THIS IS A JOKE!!!

Here's What to Do

1. To make a switch:
 ◦ Take the block of wood and stick one thumb tack in
◦ Push the other thumbtack through the thin piece of flat metal.
◦ Push the thumb tack into the wood so that the piece of metal can
touch the other thumb tack (see picture)
2. Connect the first piece of wire to a thumbtack on the switch.
3. Place the light bulb in the center of this wire piece.
4. Tape the end of the first piece of wire to one end of the battery.
5. Tape your second piece of wire to the opposite end of the battery.
6. Attach the end of your second piece of wire to the remaining thumbtack on
the switch.

You've created an electrical circuit. When you press the switch connecting the
two thumbtacks, your circuit is "closed" and your current flows -- turning your
light bulb on. When your switch is up, your circuit is "open" and your current can
not flow -- turning your light bulb off, just like Thomas Edison's may have done.

The number of electrons we are willing to let across the circuit at one time is
called "current". We measure current using amperes, or "Amps".

18
One AMP is defined as 6,250,000,000,000,000,000 (6.25 x 10 ) electrons
moving across your circuit every second!

Since no one wants to remember such a big number, that big number is called a
"coulomb," after the scientist Charles A Coulomb who helped discover what a
current of electricity is.

The amount of charge between the sides of the circuit is called "voltage." We
measure Voltage in Volts. The word volt is named after another scientist,
Alexader Volta, who built the world's first battery.

You'll remember that back in Chapter 1, we defined energy as the "ability to do

work."

Well, one volt is defined as the amount of electrical charge needed to make one
Coulomb (625,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons) do one a specific amount of
work -- which is labeled one joule.

Joule is also named after a scientist, James Prescott Joule. Do you remember
him from Chapter 2?

Voltage, Current and Resistance are very important to circuits. If either voltage
or current is too big you could break the circuit. But if either is too small, the
circuit will not be able to work enough to be useful to us. In the same way, if the
resistance is too big none of the electrons would be able to get though at all, but
if it were too small, they would rush though all at once breaking the circuit on
their way.
Parallel Circuits!

When we have only one circuit that electrons can go through to get to the other
side we call it a "series circuit." If we were to set up another circuit next to the
first one, we would have two circuits between the charges. We call these "parallel
circuits" because they run parallel to each other. You can have as many parallel
circuits as you want. Parallel circuits share the same voltage, but they allow
more paths for the electricity to go over. This means that the total number of
electrons that can get across (the current) can increase, without breaking either
circuit.

Electric Motors

An electric motor uses circuits wound round and round. These wound
circuits are suspended between magnets. (We send a 'thank you' to How
Stuff Works Website for their electric motor graphic.) A motor works through
electromagnetism. It has a coiled up wire (the circuit) that sits between the
north and south poles of a magnet. When current flows through the coiled
circuit, another magnetic field is produced. The north pole of the fixed magnet
attracts the south pole of the coiled wire. The two north poles push away, or
repulse, each other. The motor is set up in a way that attraction and repulsion
spins the center section with the coiled wire.

Stored Energy and Batteries

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be saved in various forms.

One way to store it is in the form of chemical energy in a battery. When
connected in a circuit, a battery can produce electricity.

If you look at a battery, it will have two ends -- a positive terminal and a
negative terminal. If you connect the two terminals with wire, a circuit is
formed. Electrons will flow through the wire and a current of electricity is
produced.

Inside the battery, a reaction between the chemicals takes place. But reaction
takes place only if there is a flow of electrons. Batteries can be stored for a long
time and still work because the chemical process doesn't start until the electrons
flow from the negative to the positive terminals through a circuit.

How the Chemical Reaction Takes Place in a Battery

A very simple modern battery is the zinc-carbon battery, called the carbon
battery for short. This battery contains acidic material within and a rod of zinc
down the center. Here's where knowing a little bit of chemistry helps.
 SIDEBAR
As we read in Chapter 1, Alessandro
Volta created the first battery (also see
our "Super Scientists" page).

Volta called his battery the Voltaic Pile.

He stacked alternating layers of zinc,
cardboard soaked in salt water and
silver. It looked like this:

If you attach a wire to the top and

bottom of the pile, you create an
electric current because of the flow of
electrons. Adding another layer will
increase the amount of electricity
produced by the pile.

When zinc is inserted into an acid, the acid begins to eat away at the zinc,
releasing hydrogen gas and heat energy. The acid molecules break up into its
components: usually hydrogen and other atoms. The process releases electrons
from the Zinc atoms that combine with hydrogen ions in the acid to create the
hydrogen gas. If a rod of carbon is inserted into the acid, the acid does nothing
to it. But if you connect the carbon rod to the zinc rod with a wire, creating a
circuit, electrons will begin to flow through the wire and combine with hydrogen
on the carbon rod. This still releases a little bit of hydrogen gas but it makes less
heat. Some of that heat energy is the energy that is flowing through the circuit.
The energy in that circuit can now light a light bulb in a flashlight or turn a
small motor. Depending on the size of the battery, it can even start an
automobile. Eventually, the zinc rod is completely dissolved by the acid in the
battery, and the battery can no longer be used. For a "great" on-line page about
batteries, visit the Energizer Learning Center.
Different Types of Batteries

Different types of batteries use different types of chemicals and chemical

reactions. Some of the more common types of batteries are:

• Alkaline battery -- Used in Duracell and Energizer and other alkaline

batteries. The electrodes are zinc and manganese-oxide. The electrolyte is
an alkaline paste.

• Lead-acid battery -- These are used in automobiles. The electrodes are

made of lead and lead-oxide with a strong acid as the electrolyte.

• Lithium battery -- These batteries are used in cameras for the flash bulb.
They are made with lithium, lithium-iodide and lead-iodide. They can
supply surges of electricity for the flash.

• Lithium-ion battery -- These batteries are found in laptop computers, cell

phones and other high-use portable equipment.

• Nickel-cadmium or NiCad battery -- The electrodes are nickel-hydroxide and

cadmium. The electrolyte is potassium-hydroxide.

• Zinc-carbon battery or standard carbon battery -- Zinc and carbon are used
in all regular or standard AA, C and D dry-cell batteries. The electrodes are
made of zinc and carbon, with a paste of acidic materials between them
serving as the electrolyte.

Food - Another Method of Storing Energy

Batteries store energy in a chemical process, but there are other ways of storing
energy. Consider the "food chain" on our planet. Plants, like grass in a meadow,
convert the sun's energy through photosynthesis into stored chemical energy.
This energy is stored in the plant cells is used by the plant to grow, repair itself
and reproduce itself. Cows and other animals eat the energy stored in the grass
or grain and convert that energy into stored energy in their bodies. When we eat
meat and other animal products, we in turn, store that energy in our own
bodies. We use the stored energy to walk, run, ride a bike or even read a page
on the Internet.

Turbines, Generators and Power Plants

As we learned in Chapter 2, electricity flows through wires to light our

lamps, run TVs, computers and all other electrical appliances. But where
does the electricity come from? In this chapter, we'll learn how electricity is
generated in a power plant. In the next few chapters, we'll learn about the
various resources that are used to make the heat to produce electricity. In
Chapter 7, we'll learn how the electricity gets from the power plant to
homes, school and businesses. Thermal power plants have big boilers that
burn a fuel to make heat. A boiler is like a teapot on a stove. When the
water boils, the steam comes through a tiny hole on the top of the spout.
The moving steam makes a whistle that tells you the water has boiled. In a
power plant, the water is brought to a boil inside the boiler, and the steam
lamps, run TVs, computers and all other electrical appliances. But where
does the electricity come from? In this chapter, we'll learn how electricity is
generated in a power plant. In the next few chapters, we'll learn about the
various resources that are used to make the heat to produce electricity. In
Chapter 7, we'll learn how the electricity gets from the power plant to
homes, school and businesses. Thermal power plants have big boilers that
burn a fuel to make heat. A boiler is like a teapot on a stove. When the
water boils, the steam comes through a tiny hole on the top of the spout.
The moving steam makes a whistle that tells you the water has boiled. In a
power plant, the water is brought to a boil inside the boiler, and the steam
is then piped to the turbine through very thick pipes. In most boilers, wood,
coal, oil or natural gas is burned in a firebox to make heat. Running through
the fire box and above that hot fire are a series of pipes with water running
through them. The heat energy is conducted into the metal pipes, heating
the water in the pipes until it boils into steam. Water boils into steam at 212
degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius. The top picture on the right is of
a small power plant located at Michigan State University. The black area to
the left of the power plant is coal, the energy source that is burned to heat
the water in the boilers of this plant. In the second picture to the right,
you'll see the turbine and generator at MSU's power plant. The big pipe on
the left side is the steam inlet. On the right side of the turbine is where the
steam comes out. The steam is fed under high pressure to the turbine. The
turbine spins and its shaft is connected to a turbogenerator that changes the
mechanical spinning energy into electricity. The third picture on the right is
of the turbine fan before it is placed inside the turbine housing. You can see
a close-up of the turbine blades on the fourth picture. The turbine has many
hundreds of blades that are turned at an angle like the blades of a fan.
When the steam hits the blades they spin the turbine's shaft that is
attached to the bottom of the blades. After the steam goes through the
turbine, it usually goes to a cooling tower outside the where the steam cools
off. It cools off and becomes water again. When the hot pipes come into
contact with cool air, some water vapor in the air is heated and steam is
given off above the cooling towers. That's why you see huge white clouds
sometimes being given off by the cooling towers. It's not smoke, but is
water vapor or steam. This is not the same steam that is used inside the
turbine. The cooled water then goes back into the boiler where it is heated
again and the process repeats over and over. Most power plants in California
use cleaner-burning natural gas to produce electricity. Others use oil or coal
to heat the water. Nuclear power plants use nuclear energy to heat water to
make electricity. Still others, called geothermal power plants, use steam or
hot water found naturally below the earth's surface without burning a fuel.
We'll learn about those energy sources in the next few chapters.

How the Generator Works

The turbine is attached by a shaft to the turbogenerator. The generator has

a long, coiled wire on its shaft surrounded by a giant magnet. You can see
the inside of the generator coil with all its wires in the picture on the right.
The shaft that comes out of the turbine is connected to the generator. When
the turbine turns, the shaft and rotor is turned. As the shaft inside the
generator turns, an electric current is produced in the wire. The electric
generator is converting mechanical, moving energy into electrical energy.
The generator is based on the principle of "electromagnetic induction"
discovered in 1831 by Michael Faraday, a British scientist. Faraday
discovered that if an electric conductor, like a copper wire, is moved through
a magnetic field, electric current will flow (or "be induced") in the conductor.
So the mechanical energy of the moving wire is converted into the electric
the inside of the generator coil with all its wires in the picture on the right.
The shaft that comes out of the turbine is connected to the generator. When
the turbine turns, the shaft and rotor is turned. As the shaft inside the
generator turns, an electric current is produced in the wire. The electric
generator is converting mechanical, moving energy into electrical energy.
The generator is based on the principle of "electromagnetic induction"
discovered in 1831 by Michael Faraday, a British scientist. Faraday
discovered that if an electric conductor, like a copper wire, is moved through
a magnetic field, electric current will flow (or "be induced") in the conductor.
So the mechanical energy of the moving wire is converted into the electric
energy of the current that flows in the wire. The electricity produced by the
generator then flows through huge transmission wires that link the power
plants to our homes, school and businesses. If you want to learn about
transmission lines, go to Chapter 7. All power plants have turbines and
generators. Some turbines are turned by wind, some by water, some by
steam.

Electricity Transmission System

After electricity is produced at

power plants it has to get to the
customers that use the electricity.
Our cities, towns, states and the
entire country are criss-crossed
with power lines that "carry" the
electricity. As large generators
spin, they produce electricity with
a voltage of about 25,000 volts. A
volt is a measurement of
electromotive force in electricity.
This is the electric force that
"pushes" electrons around a circuit.
"Volt" is named after Alessandro
Volta, an Italian physicist who
invented the first battery.
The electricity first goes to a
transformer at the power plant
that boosts the voltage up to
400,000 volts. When electricity
travels long distances it is better to
have it at higher voltages. Another
way of saying this is that electricity
can be transferred more efficiently
at high voltages. The long thick
cables of transmission lines are
made of copper or aluminum Peop l e l ook at a
because they have a low resistance. s e r i e s of H y d r o-
You'll remember from Chapter 3 Quebec high voltage
that the higher the resistance of a t ower s n ear S t -
wire, the warmer it gets. So, some B ru n o, Qu eb ec,
of the electrical energy is lost Canada, sout h of
because it is changed into heat Mont real, t hat
energy. High voltage transmission col l ap sed aft er a
lines carry electricity long distances severe ice storm hit
to a substation. The power lines go southwest Quebec.
into substations near businesses, The storm left more
factories and homes. Here t h an 1 . 4 m i l l i on
because they have a low resistance.
You'll remember from Chapter 3 Quebec high voltage
that the higher the resistance of a t ower s n ear S t -
wire, the warmer it gets. So, some B ru n o, Qu eb ec,
of the electrical energy is lost Canada, sout h of
because it is changed into heat Mont real, t hat
energy. High voltage transmission col l ap sed aft er a
lines carry electricity long distances severe ice storm hit
to a substation. The power lines go southwest Quebec.
into substations near businesses, The storm left more
factories and homes. Here t h an 1 . 4 m i l l i on
transformers change the very high households out of
voltage electricity back into lower electricity.
voltage electricity. From these
substations (like in the photo to Photo credit:
the right), electricity in different Jacques Boissinot/CP
power levels is used to run PHOTO
factories, streetcars and mass
transit, light street lights and stop
lights, and is sent to your
neighborhood. In your
neighborhood, another small
transformer mounted on pole (see
picture) or in a utility box converts
the power to even lower levels to
be used in your house. The voltage
is eventually reduced to 220 volts
for larger appliances, like stoves
and clothes dryers, and 110 volts
for lights, TVs and other smaller
appliances. Rather than over-head
lines, some new distribution lines
are underground. The power lines
are protected from the weather,
which can cause line to break. Have
you ever seen what happens after
an ice storm? The picture on the
right shows high voltage towers
that crumpled from the weight of
ice during a 1998 ice storm that
hit Canada and parts of the United
States. More than 1,000 high
voltage towers and 30,000 wooden
utility poles were destroyed in
Canada by the storm. Close to 1.4
million people in Quebec and
230,000 in Ontario were without
electricity. In many places, power
not fully restored for up to a week.
Weather people called it the most
destructive storm in Canadian
history. When electricity enters
your home, it must pass through a
meter. A utility company worker
reads the meter so the company
will know how much electricity you
used and can bill you for the
cost.After being metered, the
not fully restored for up to a week.
Weather people called it the most
destructive storm in Canadian
history. When electricity enters
your home, it must pass through a
meter. A utility company worker
reads the meter so the company
will know how much electricity you
used and can bill you for the
cost.After being metered, the
electricity goes through a fuse box
into your home. The fuse box
protects the house in case of
problems. When a fuse (or a circuit
breaker) "blows" or "trips"
something is wrong with an
appliance or something was short-
circuited.

Energy Safety Note!

Never play around a transformer. If a ball or toy lands in or near a

transformer, go and tell your parents to call the electric company.
The electricity from a transformer could kill you. Never fly a kite
around electrical lines. The kite string could link across the wires,
completing a circuit. The electricity could be transferred back to you
holding the string. Never let a balloon - especially a mylar foil
balloon - escape into the sky. When the helium of the balloon
escapes, the balloon can come down a long way aways. The wire or
the mylar surface could stretch across high voltage electrical wires
causing problems or even a fire. You should never touch wires
inside or outside your house. You should only let an electrician who
knows electricity safety work on the wires.
Fossil Fuels - Coal, Oil and Natural Gas

Where Fossil Fuels Come From

There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. All
three were formed many hundreds of millions of years ago before the time of
the dinosaurs - hence the name fossil fuels. The age they were formed is
called the Carboniferous Period. It was part of the Paleozoic Era.
"Carboniferous" gets its name from carbon, the basic element in coal and
other fossil fuels.
The Carboniferous Period occurred from about 360 to 286 million years ago.
At the time, the land was covered with swamps filled with huge trees, ferns
and other large leafy plants, similar to the picture above. The water and seas
were filled with algae - the green stuff that forms on a stagnant pool of
water. Algae is actually millions of very small plants. Some deposits of coal
can be found during the time of the dinosaurs. For example, thin carbon
layers can be found during the late Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago)
- the time of Tyrannosaurus Rex. But the main deposits of fossil fuels are
from the Carboniferous Period. For more about the various geologic eras, go
to www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html As the trees and plants
died, they sank to the bottom of the swamps of oceans. They formed layers
of a spongy material called peat. Over many hundreds of years, the peat was
covered by sand and clay and other minerals, which turned into a type of
rock called sedimentary.

More and more rock piled on top of more rock, and it weighed more and
more. It began to press down on the peat. The peat was squeezed and
squeezed until the water came out of it and it eventually, over millions of
years, it turned into coal, oil or petroleum, and natural gas.

Coal

Coal is a hard, black colored rock-like substance. It is made up of carbon,

More and more rock piled on top of more rock, and it weighed more and
more. It began to press down on the peat. The peat was squeezed and
squeezed until the water came out of it and it eventually, over millions of
years, it turned into coal, oil or petroleum, and natural gas.

Coal

Coal is a hard, black colored rock-like substance. It is made up of carbon,

hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and varying amounts of sulphur. There are three
main types of coal - anthracite, bituminous and lignite. Anthracite coal is the
hardest and has more carbon, which gives it a higher energy content. Lignite
is the softest and is low in carbon but high in hydrogen and oxygen content.
Bituminous is in between. Today, the precursor to coal - peat - is still found
in many countries and is also used as an energy source. The earliest known
use of coal was in China. Coal from the Fu-shun mine in northeastern China
may have been used to smelt copper as early as 3,000 years ago. The
Chinese thought coal was a stone that could burn.

Coal is found in many of the lower 48 states of U.S. and throughout the rest
of the world. Coal is mined out of the ground using various methods. Some
coal mines are dug by sinking vertical or horizontal shafts deep under
ground, and coal miners travel by elevators or trains deep under ground to
dig the coal. Other coal is mined in strip mines where huge steam shovels
strip away the top layers above the coal. The layers are then restored after
the coal is taken away. The coal is then shipped by train and boats and even
in pipelines. In pipelines, the coal is ground up and mixed with water to
make what's called a slurry. This is then pumped many miles through
pipelines. At the other end, the coal is used to fuel power plants and other
factories.

Oil or Petroleum
Oil is another fossil fuel. It was also formed more than 300 million years ago.
Some scientists say that tiny diatoms are the source of oil. Diatoms are sea
creatures the size of a pin head. They do one thing just like plants; they can
convert sunlight directly into stored energy. In the graphic on the left, as
the diatoms died they fell to the sea floor (1). Here they were buried under
sediment and other rock (2). The rock squeezed the diatoms and the energy
in their bodies could not escape. The carbon eventually turned into oil under
great pressure and heat. As the earth changed and moved and folded,
pockets where oil and natural gas can be found were formed (3). Oil has
been used for more than 5,000-6,000 years. The ancient Sumerians,
Assyrians and Babylonians used crude oil and asphalt ("pitch") collected from
large seeps at Tuttul (modern-day Hit) on the Euphrates River. A seep is a
place on the ground where the oil leaks up from below ground. The ancient
Egyptians, used liquid oil as a medicine for wounds, and oil has been used in
lamps to provide light. The Dead Sea, near the modern Country of Israel,
used to be called Lake Asphaltites. The word asphalt was derived is from
that term because of the lumps of gooey petroleum that were washed up on
the lake shores from underwater seeps. In North America, Native Americans
used blankets to skim oil off the surface of streams and lakes. They used oil
as medicine and to make canoes water-proof. During the Revolutionary War,
Native Americans taught George Washington's troops how to treat frostbite
with oil. As our country grew, the demand for oil continued to increase as a
fuel for lamps. Petroleum oil began to replace whale oil in lamps because the
price for whale oil was very high. During this time, most petroleum oil came
from distilling coal into a liquid or by skimming it off of lakes - just as the
Native Americans did.
Then on August 27, 1859, Edwin L. Drake (the man standing on the right in
the black and white picture to the right), struck liquid oil at his well near
Titusville, Pennsylvania. He found oil under ground and a way that could
pump it to the surface. The well pumped the oil into barrels made out of
wood. This method of drilling for oil is still being used today all over the
world in areas where oil can be found below the surface. Oil and natural gas
are found under ground between folds of rock and in areas of rock that are
porous and contain the oils within the rock itself. The folds of rock were
formed as the earth shifts and moves. It's similar to how a small, throw
carpet will bunch up in places on the floor. To find oil and natural gas,
companies drill through the earth to the deposits deep below the surface.
The oil and natural gas are then pumped from below the ground by oil rigs
(like in the picture). They then usually travel through pipelines or by ship.

Oil is found in 18 of the 58 counties in California. Kern County, the County

where Bakersfield is found, is one of the largest oil production places in the
country. But we only get one-half of our oil from California wells. The rest
comes from Alaska, and an increasing amount comes from other countries.
In the entire U.S., more than 50 percent of all the oil we use comes from
outside the country...most of it from the Middle East. Oil is brought to
Oil is found in 18 of the 58 counties in California. Kern County, the County
where Bakersfield is found, is one of the largest oil production places in the
country. But we only get one-half of our oil from California wells. The rest
comes from Alaska, and an increasing amount comes from other countries.
In the entire U.S., more than 50 percent of all the oil we use comes from
outside the country...most of it from the Middle East. Oil is brought to
California by large tanker ships. The petroleum or crude oil must be changed
or refined into other products before it can be used.

Refineries

Oil is stored in large tanks until it is sent to various places to be used. At oil
refineries, crude oil is split into various types of products by heating the
thick black oil. Oil is made into many different products - fertilizers for
farms, the clothes you wear, the toothbrush you use, the plastic bottle that
holds your milk, the plastic pen that you write with. They all came from oil.
There are thousands of other products that come from oil. Almost all plastic
comes originally from oil. Can you think of some other things made from oil?
The products include gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation or jet fuel, home heating
oil, oil for ships and oil to burn in power plants to make electricity. Here's
what a barrel of crude oil can make. In California, 74 percent of our oil is
used for transportation -- cars, planes, trucks, buses and motorcycles. We'll
learn more about transportation energy in Chapter 18.
 Source: American Petroleum
Institute (www.api.org). Figures
are based on 1995 average
yields for U.S. refineries. One
barrel contains 42 gallons of
crude oil. The total volume of
products made is 44.2
GALLONS - 2.2 gallons greater
than the original 42 gallons of
crude oil. This is called
"processing gain," where other
chemicals are added to the
refining process to create the
products.

Natural Gas

Sometime between 6,000 to 2,000 years BCE (Before the Common Era), the
first discoveries of natural gas seeps were made in Iran. Many early writers
described the natural petroleum seeps in the Middle East, especially in the
Baku region of what is now Azerbaijan. The gas seeps, probably first ignited
by lightning, provided the fuel for the "eternal fires" of the fire-worshiping
religion of the ancient Persians. Natural gas is lighter than air. Natural gas is
mostly made up of a gas called methane. Methane is a simple chemical
compound that is made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It's chemical
formula is CH4 - one atom of carbon along with four atoms hydrogen. This
gas is highly flammable. Natural gas is usually found near petroleum
underground. It is pumped from below ground and travels in pipelines to
storage areas. The next chapter looks at that pipeline system. Natural gas
usually has no odor and you can't see it. Before it is sent to the pipelines
and storage tanks, it is mixed with a chemical that gives a strong odor. The
odor smells almost like rotten eggs. The odor makes it easy to smell if there
is a leak.

Energy Safety Note! If you smell that rotten egg smell in your house, tell
your folks and get out of the house quickly. Don't turn on any lights or other
gas is highly flammable. Natural gas is usually found near petroleum
underground. It is pumped from below ground and travels in pipelines to
storage areas. The next chapter looks at that pipeline system. Natural gas
usually has no odor and you can't see it. Before it is sent to the pipelines
and storage tanks, it is mixed with a chemical that gives a strong odor. The
odor smells almost like rotten eggs. The odor makes it easy to smell if there
is a leak.

Energy Safety Note! If you smell that rotten egg smell in your house, tell
your folks and get out of the house quickly. Don't turn on any lights or other
electrical devices. A spark from a light switch can ignite the gas very easily.
Go to a neighbor's house and call 9-1-1 for emergency help.

Saving Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels take millions of years to make. We are using up the fuels that
were made more than 300 million years ago before the time of the
dinosaurs. Once they are gone they are gone. So, it's best to not waste fossil
fuels. They are not renewable; they can't really be made again. We can save
fossil fuels by conserving energy.

Natural Gas Distribution System

We learned in Chapter 8 that natural gas is a fossil fuel. It is a gaseous

molecule that's made up of two atoms - one carbon atom combined with
four hydrogen atom. It's chemical formula is CH4. The picture on the right is
a model of what the molecule could look like. Don't confuse natural gas with
"gasoline," which we call "gas" for short. Like oil, natural gas is found under
ground and under the ocean floor. Wells are drilled to tap into natural gas
reservoirs just like drilling for oil. Once a drill has hit an area that contains
natural gas, it can be brought to the surface through pipes. The natural gas
has to get from the wells to us. To do that, there is a huge network of
pipelines that brings natural gas from the gas fields to us. Some of these
pipes are two feet wide. Natural gas is sent in larger pipelines to power
plants to make electricity or to factories because they use lots of gas.
Bakeries use natural gas to heat ovens to bake bread, pies, pastries and
cookies. Other businesses use natural gas for heating their buildings or
heating water. From larger pipelines, the gas goes through smaller and
smaller pipes to your neighborhood. In businesses and in your home, the
natural gas must first pass through a meter, which measures the amount of
fuel going into the building. A gas company worker reads the meter and the
natural gas, it can be brought to the surface through pipes. The natural gas
has to get from the wells to us. To do that, there is a huge network of
pipelines that brings natural gas from the gas fields to us. Some of these
pipes are two feet wide. Natural gas is sent in larger pipelines to power
plants to make electricity or to factories because they use lots of gas.
Bakeries use natural gas to heat ovens to bake bread, pies, pastries and
cookies. Other businesses use natural gas for heating their buildings or
heating water. From larger pipelines, the gas goes through smaller and
smaller pipes to your neighborhood. In businesses and in your home, the
natural gas must first pass through a meter, which measures the amount of
fuel going into the building. A gas company worker reads the meter and the
company will charge you for the amount of natural gas you used. In some
homes, natural gas is used for cooking, heating water and heating the house
in a furnace.

In rural areas, where there are no natural gas pipelines, propane (another
form of gas that's often made when oil is refined) or bottled gas is used
instead of natural gas. Propane is also called LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas,
is made up of methane and a mixture with other gases like butane. Propane
turns to a liquid when it is placed under slight pressure. For regular natural
gas to turn into a liquid, it has to be made very, very cold. Cars and trucks
can also use natural gas as a transportation fuel, but they must carry special
cylinder-like tanks to hold the fuel. When natural gas is burned to make heat
or burned in a car's engine, it burns very cleanly. When you combine natural
gas with oxygen (the process of combustion), you produce carbon dioxide
and water vapor; plus the energy that's released in heat and light. Some
impurities are contained in all natural gas. These include sulphur and butane
and other chemicals. When burned, those impurities can create air pollution.
The amount of pollution from natural gas is less than burning a more
"complex" fuel like gasoline. Natural gas-powered cars are more than 90
percent cleaner than a gasoline-powered car. That's why many people feel
natural gas would be a good fuel for cars because it burns cleanly.

Biomass Energy
Biomass Energy

Biomass is matter usually thought of as garbage. Some of it is just stuff

lying around -- dead trees, tree branches, yard clippings, left-over crops,
wood chips (like in the picture to the right), and bark and sawdust from
lumber mills. It can even include used tires and livestock manure.
Your trash, paper products that can't be recycled into other paper products,
and other household waste are normally sent to the dump. Your trash
contains some types of biomass that can be reused. Recycling biomass for
fuel and other uses cuts down on the need for "landfills" to hold garbage.
This stuff nobody seems to want can be used to produce electricity, heat,
compost material or fuels. Composting material is decayed plant or food
products mixed together in a compost pile and spread to help plants grow.
California produces more than 60 million bone dry tons of biomass each
year. Of this total, five million bone dry tons is now burned to make
electricity. This is biomass from lumber mill wastes, urban wood waste,
forest and agricultural residues and other feed stocks. If all of it was used,
the 60 million tons of biomass in California could make close to 2,000
megawatts of electricity for California's growing population and economy.
That's enough energy to make electricity for about two million homes!
How biomass works is very simple. The waste wood, tree branches and other
scraps are gathered together in big trucks. The trucks bring the waste from
factories and from farms to a biomass power plant. Here the biomass is
dumped into huge hoppers. This is then fed into a furnace where it is
burned. The heat is used to boil water in the boiler, and the energy in the
steam is used to turn turbines and generators (see Chapter 8). Biomass can
also be tapped right at the landfill with burning waster products. When
garbage decomposes, it gives off methane gas. You'll remember in chapters
8 and 9 that natural gas is made up of methane. Pipelines are put into the
landfills and the methane gas can be collected. It is then used in power
plants to make electricity. This type of biomass is called landfill gas. A
similar thing can be done at animal feed lots. In places where lots of animals
are raised, the animals - like cattle, cows and even chickens - produce
manure. When manure decomposes, it also gives off methane gas similar to
garbage. This gas can be burned right at the farm to make energy to run
the farm. Using biomass can help reduce global warming compared to a
fossil fuel-powered plant. Plants use and store carbon dioxide (CO2) when
they grow. CO2 stored in the plant is released when the plant material is
burned or decays. By replanting the crops, the new plants can use the CO2
produced by the burned plants. So using biomass and replanting helps close
the carbon dioxide cycle. However, if the crops are not replanted, then
biomass can emit carbon dioxide that will contribute toward global warming.

So, the use of biomass can be environmentally friendly because the biomass
is reduced, recycled and then reused. It is also a renewable resource because
plants to make biomass can be grown over and over. Today, new ways of
using biomass are still being discovered. One way is to produce ethanol, a
liquid alcohol fuel. Ethanol can be used in special types of cars that are made
So, the use of biomass can be environmentally friendly because the biomass
is reduced, recycled and then reused. It is also a renewable resource because
plants to make biomass can be grown over and over. Today, new ways of
using biomass are still being discovered. One way is to produce ethanol, a
liquid alcohol fuel. Ethanol can be used in special types of cars that are made
for using alcohol fuel instead of gasoline. The alcohol can also be combined
with gasoline. This reduces our dependence on oil - a non-renewable fossil
fuel.

DID YOU KNOW THAT

ELEPHANTS CAN MAKE ENERGY!
CLICK THE PICTURE TO FIND OUT MORE....

CLICK HERE TO SEE A FLASH MOVIE

OF HOW BIOMASS POWER WORKS...
This file is VERY large. DO NOT click on this is you're using a regular
modem. You need a FAST Internet connection like DSL, cable modem or
LAN!

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Energy has been around for as long as the Earth has existed.
"Geo" means earth, and "thermal" means heat. So, geothermal means earth-
heat.

Have you ever cut a boiled egg in half? The egg is similar to how the earth
heat.

Have you ever cut a boiled egg in half? The egg is similar to how the earth
looks like inside. The yellow yolk of the egg is like the core of the earth. The
white part is the mantle of the earth. And the thin shell of the egg, that
would have surrounded the boiled egg if you didn't peel it off, is like the
earth's crust. Below the crust of the earth, the top layer of the mantle is a
hot liquid rock called magma. The crust of the earth floats on this liquid
magma mantle. When magma breaks through the surface of the earth in a
volcano, it is called lava. For every 100 meters you go below ground, the
temperature of the rock increases about 3 degrees Celsius. Or for every 328
feet below ground, the temperature increases 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if
you went about 10,000 feet below ground, the temperature of the rock
would be hot enough to boil water.

Deep under the surface, water sometimes makes its way close to the hot
rock and turns into boiling hot water or into steam. The hot water can reach
temperatures of more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 degrees Celsius).
This is hotter than boiling water (212 degrees F / 100 degrees C). It doesn't
turn into steam because it is not in contact with the air. When this hot water
comes up through a crack in the earth, we call it a hot spring, like Emerald
Pool at Yellowstone National Park pictured on the left. Or, it sometimes
explodes into the air as a geyser, like Old Faithful Geyser pictured on the
right. About 10,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians used hot springs in North
American for cooking. Areas around hot springs were neutral zones. Warriors
of fighting tribes would bathe together in peace. Every major hot spring in
rock and turns into boiling hot water or into steam. The hot water can reach
temperatures of more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 degrees Celsius).
This is hotter than boiling water (212 degrees F / 100 degrees C). It doesn't
turn into steam because it is not in contact with the air. When this hot water
comes up through a crack in the earth, we call it a hot spring, like Emerald
Pool at Yellowstone National Park pictured on the left. Or, it sometimes
explodes into the air as a geyser, like Old Faithful Geyser pictured on the
right. About 10,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians used hot springs in North
American for cooking. Areas around hot springs were neutral zones. Warriors
of fighting tribes would bathe together in peace. Every major hot spring in
the United States can be associated with Native American tribes. California
hot springs, like at the Geysers in the Napa area, were important and sacred
areas to tribes from that area. In other places around the world, people used
hot springs for rest and relaxation. The ancient Romans built elaborate
buildings to enjoy hot baths, and the Japanese have enjoyed natural hot
springs for centuries.

Geothermal Today

Today, people use the geothermally heated hot water in swimming pools and
in health spas. Or, the hot water from below the ground can warm buildings
for growing plants, like in the green house on the right. In San Bernardino,
in Southern California, hot water from below ground is used to heat
buildings during the winter. The hot water runs through miles of insulated
pipes to dozens of public buildings. The City Hall, animal shelters,
retirement homes, state agencies, a hotel and convention center are some of
the buildings which are heated this way. In the Country of Iceland, many of
the buildings and even swimming pools in the capital of Reykjavik (RECK-
yah-vick) and elsewhere are heated with geothermal hot water. The country
has at least 25 active volcanoes and many hot springs and geysers.

Geothermal Electricity
Hot water or steam from below ground can also be used to make electricity
in a geothermal power plant. In California, there are 14 areas where we use
geothermal energy to make electricity. The red areas on the map show
where there are known geothermal areas. Some are not used yet because
the resource is too small, too isolated or the water temperatures are not hot
enough to make electricity.
The main spots are:

• The Geysers area north of San Francisco

• In the northwest corner of the state near Lassen Volcanic National Park
• In the Mammoth Lakes area - the site of a huge ancient volcano
• In the Coso Hot Springs area in Inyo County
• In the Imperial Valley in Southern California.

Some of the areas have so much steam and hot water that it can be used to
generate electricity. Holes are drilled into the ground and pipes lowered into
the hot water, like a drinking straw in a soda. The hot steam or water comes
up through these pipes from below ground. You can see the pipes running in
front of the geothermal power plant in the picture. This power plant is
Geysers Unit # 18 located in the Geysers Geothermal area of California. A
geothermal power plant is like in a regular power plant except that no fuel is
burned to heat water into steam. The steam or hot water in a geothermal
power plant is heated by the earth. It goes into a special turbine. The
turbine blades spin and the shaft from the turbine is connected to a
generator to make electricity. The steam then gets cooled off in a cooling
tower. The white "smoke" rising from the plants in the photograph above is
not smoke. It is steam given off in the cooling process. The cooled water can
then be pumped back below ground to be reheated by the earth. Here's a
cut-away showing the inside of the power plant. The hot water flows into
turbine and out of the turbine. The turn turns the generator, and the
electricity goes out to the transformer and then to the huge transmission
wires that link the power plants to our homes, school and businesses.
power plant is heated by the earth. It goes into a special turbine. The
turbine blades spin and the shaft from the turbine is connected to a
generator to make electricity. The steam then gets cooled off in a cooling
tower. The white "smoke" rising from the plants in the photograph above is
not smoke. It is steam given off in the cooling process. The cooled water can
then be pumped back below ground to be reheated by the earth. Here's a
cut-away showing the inside of the power plant. The hot water flows into
turbine and out of the turbine. The turn turns the generator, and the
electricity goes out to the transformer and then to the huge transmission
wires that link the power plants to our homes, school and businesses.

Hydro Power

When it rains in hills and mountains, the water becomes streams and rivers
that run down to the ocean. The moving or falling water can be used to do
work. Energy, you'll remember is the ability to do work. So moving water,
which has kinetic energy, can be used to make electricity.
For hundreds of years, moving water was used to turn wooden wheels that
were attached to grinding wheels to grind (or mill) flour or corn. These were
called grist mills or water mills.

In the year 1086, the Domesday Book was written. The multi-volume
books are very large. Hand-written on the pages of the books are lists of all
properties, homes, stores and other things in England. The Domesday Book
listed 5,624 waterwheel-driven mills in England south of the Trent River.
That was about one mill for each 400 people.

Water can either go over the top of the wheel like in the photograph on the
left, or the wheel can be placed in the moving river. The flow of the river
then turns the wheel at the bottom like in the moving graphic on the right.
Water can either go over the top of the wheel like in the photograph on the
left, or the wheel can be placed in the moving river. The flow of the river
then turns the wheel at the bottom like in the moving graphic on the right.

Today, moving water can also be used to make electricity.

Hydro means water. Hydro-electric means making electricity from water

power. Hydroelectric power uses the kinetic energy of moving water to make
electricity. Dams can be built to stop the flow of a river. Water behind a dam
often forms a reservoir Like the picture of Shasta Dam in Northern California
pictured on the right. Dams are also built across larger rivers but no
reservoir is made. The river is simply sent through a hydroelectric power
plant or powerhouse. You can see this in the picture of The Dalles Dam on
the Columbia River along the border of Oregon and Washington State.
Hydro is one of the largest producers of electricity in the United States.
Water power supplies about 10 percent of the entire electricity that we use.
In states with high mountains and lots of rivers, even more electricity if
made by hydro power. In California, for example, about 15 percent of all the
electricity comes from hydroelectric.

The state of Washington leads the nation in hydroelectricity. The Grand

Coulee, Chief Joseph and John Day dams are three of six major dams on the
Columbia River. About 87 percent of the electricity made in Washington
state is produced by hydroelectric facilities. Some of that electricity is
exported from the state and used in other states.

How a Hydro Dam Works

The water behind the dam flows through the intake and into a pipe called a
penstock. The water pushes against blades in a turbine, causing them to
turn. The turbine is similar to the kind used in a power plant that we learned
about in Chapter 6. But instead of using steam to turn the turbine, water is
used.
exported from the state and used in other states.

How a Hydro Dam Works

The water behind the dam flows through the intake and into a pipe called a
penstock. The water pushes against blades in a turbine, causing them to
turn. The turbine is similar to the kind used in a power plant that we learned
about in Chapter 6. But instead of using steam to turn the turbine, water is
used.
The turbine spins a generator to produce electricity. The electricity can then
travel over long distance electric lines to your home, to your school, to
factories and businesses.

Hydro power today can be found in the mountainous areas of states where
there are lakes and reservoirs and along rivers.

Nuclear Energy - Fission and Fusion

Another major form of energy is nuclear energy, the energy that is trapped
inside each atom. One of the laws of the universe is that matter and energy
can't be created nor destroyed. But they can be changed in form.
Matter can be changed into energy. The world's most famous scientist,
Albert Einstein, created the mathematical formula that explains this. It is:

E=mc2

This equation says:

E [energy] equals m [mass] times c2 [c stands for the velocity or the speed
2
of light. c means c times c, or the speed of light raised to the second power
-- or c-squared.] You can listen to Einstein's voice explaining this at:
www.aip.org/history/einstein/voice1.htm
-- or c-squared.] You can listen to Einstein's voice explaining this at:
www.aip.org/history/einstein/voice1.htm

Please note that some web browser software may not show an exponent
(raising something to a power, a mathematical expression) on the Internet.
Normally c-squared is shown with a smaller "2" placed above and to the right
of the c. Scientists used Einstein's famous equation as the key to unlock
atomic energy and also create atomic bombs. The ancient Greeks said the
smallest part of nature is an atom. But they did not know 2,000 years ago
about nature's even smaller parts.As we learned in chapter 2, atoms are
made up of smaller particles -- a nucleus of protons and neutrons,
surrounded by electrons which swirl around the nucleus much like the earth
revolves around the sun.

Nuclear Fission

An atom's nucleus can be split apart. When this is done, a tremendous

amount of energy is released. The energy is both heat and light energy.
Einstein said that a very small amount of matter contains a very LARGE
amount of energy.

This energy, when let out slowly, can be harnessed to generate electricity.
When it is let out all at once, it can make a tremendous explosion in an
atomic bomb. A nuclear power plant (like Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant shown
on the right) uses uranium as a "fuel." Uranium is an element that is dug
out of the ground many places around the world. It is processed into tiny
pellets that are loaded into very long rods that are put into the power plant's
reactor. The word fission means to split apart. Inside the reactor of an
atomic power plant, uranium atoms are split apart in a controlled chain
reaction. In a chain reaction, particles released by the splitting of the atom
go off and strike other uranium atoms splitting those. Those particles given
This energy, when let out slowly, can be harnessed to generate electricity.
When it is let out all at once, it can make a tremendous explosion in an
atomic bomb. A nuclear power plant (like Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant shown
on the right) uses uranium as a "fuel." Uranium is an element that is dug
out of the ground many places around the world. It is processed into tiny
pellets that are loaded into very long rods that are put into the power plant's
reactor. The word fission means to split apart. Inside the reactor of an
atomic power plant, uranium atoms are split apart in a controlled chain
reaction. In a chain reaction, particles released by the splitting of the atom
go off and strike other uranium atoms splitting those. Those particles given
off split still other atoms in a chain reaction. In nuclear power plants, control
rods are used to keep the splitting regulated so it doesn't go too fast. If the
reaction is not controlled, you could have an atomic bomb. But in atomic
bombs, almost pure pieces of the element Uranium-235 or Plutonium, of a
precise mass and shape, must be brought together and held together, with
great force. These conditions are not present in a nuclear reactor. The
reaction also creates radioactive material. This material could hurt people if
released, so it is kept in a solid form. The very strong concrete dome in the
picture is designed to keep this material inside if an accident happens.

This chain reaction gives off heat energy. This heat energy is used to boil
water in the core of the reactor. So, instead of burning a fuel, nuclear power
plants use the chain reaction of atoms splitting to change the energy of
atoms into heat energy. This water from around the nuclear core is sent to
another section of the power plant. Here, in the heat exchanger, it heats
another set of pipes filled with water to make steam. The steam in this
second set of pipes turns a turbine to generate electricity. Below is a cross
section of the inside of a typical nuclear power plant.

Power plant drawing courtesy Nuclear Institute

Power plant drawing courtesy Nuclear Institute

Nuclear Fusion

Another form of nuclear energy is called fusion. Fusion means joining smaller
nuclei (the plural of nucleus) to make a larger nucleus. The sun uses nuclear
fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. This gives off heat and light
and other radiation. In the picture to the right, two types of hydrogen
atoms, deuterium and tritium, combine to make a helium atom and an extra
particle called a neutron. Also given off in this fusion reaction is energy!
Thanks to the University of California, Berkeley for the picture. Scientists
have been working on controlling nuclear fusion for a long time, trying to
make a fusion reactor to produce electricity. But they have been having
trouble learning how to control the reaction in a contained space. What's
better about nuclear fusion is that it creates less radioactive material than
fission, and its supply of fuel can last longer than the sun.
Ocean Energy

The world's ocean may eventually provide us with energy to power our
The world's ocean may eventually provide us with energy to power our
homes and businesses. Right now, there are very few ocean energy power
plants and most are fairly small. But how can we get energy from the ocean?
There are three basic ways to tap the ocean for its energy. We can use the
ocean's waves, we can use the ocean's high and low tides, or we can use
temperature differences in the water. Let's take a look at each.

Wave Energy

Kinetic energy (movement) exists in the moving waves of the ocean. That
energy can be used to power a turbine. In this simple example, to the right,
the wave rises into a chamber. The rising water forces the air out of the
chamber. The moving air spins a turbine which can turn a generator.
When the wave goes down, air flows through the turbine and back into the
chamber through doors that are normally closed. This is only one type of
wave-energy system. Others actually use the up and down motion of the
wave to power a piston that moves up and down inside a cylinder. That
piston can also turn a generator. Most wave-energy systems are very small.
But, they can be used to power a warning buoy or a small light house.

Tidal Energy

Another form of ocean energy is called tidal energy. When tides comes into
the shore, they can be trapped in reservoirs behind dams. Then when the
tide drops, the water behind the dam can be let out just like in a regular
hydroelectric power plant. Tidal energy has been used since about the 11th
Century, when small dams were built along ocean estuaries and small
streams. the tidal water behind these dams was used to turn water wheels
Another form of ocean energy is called tidal energy. When tides comes into
the shore, they can be trapped in reservoirs behind dams. Then when the
tide drops, the water behind the dam can be let out just like in a regular
hydroelectric power plant. Tidal energy has been used since about the 11th
Century, when small dams were built along ocean estuaries and small
streams. the tidal water behind these dams was used to turn water wheels
to mill grains. In order for tidal energy to work well, you need large
increases in tides. An increase of at least 16 feet between low tide to high
tide is needed. There are only a few places where this tide change occurs
around the earth. Some power plants are already operating using this idea.
One plant in France makes enough energy from tides (240 megawatts) to
power 240,000 homes. This facility is called the La Rance Station in France.
It began making electricity in 1966. It produces about one fifth of a regular
nuclear or coal-fired power plant. It is more than 10 times the power of the
next largest tidal station in the world, the 17 megawatt Canadian Annapolis
station.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

The idea is not new. Using the temperature of water to make energy actually
dates back to 1881 when a French Engineer by the name of Jacques
D'Arsonval first thought of OTEC. The final ocean energy idea uses
temperature differences in the ocean. If you ever went swimming in the
ocean and dove deep below the surface, you would have noticed that the
water gets colder the deeper you go. It's warmer on the surface because
sunlight warms the water. But below the surface, the ocean gets very cold.
That's why scuba divers wear wet suits when they dive down deep. Their wet
suits trapped their body heat to keep them warm. Power plants can be built
that use this difference in temperature to make energy. A difference of at
least 38 degrees Fahrenheit is needed between the warmer surface water
and the colder deep ocean water. Using this type of energy source is called
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion or OTEC. It is being demonstrated in
Hawaii. More info on OTEC can be found on the archive pages for the Natural
Energy Laboratory of Hawaii at: www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/otec-nelha/
otec.html
Solar Energy

We have always used the energy of the sun as far back as humans have
We have always used the energy of the sun as far back as humans have
existed on this planet. As far back as 5,000 years ago, people "worshipped"
the sun. Ra, the sun-god, who was considered the first king of Egypt. In
Mesopotamia, the sun-god Shamash was a major deity and was equated
with justice. In Greece there were two sun deities, Apollo and Helios. The
influence of the sun also appears in other religions - Zoroastrianism,
Mithraism, Roman religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Druids of England, the
Aztecs of Mexico, the Incas of Peru, and many Native American tribes.
We know today, that the sun is simply our nearest star. Without it, life
would not exist on our planet. We use the sun's energy every day in many
different ways. When we hang laundry outside to dry in the sun, we are
using the sun's heat to do work -- drying our clothes. Plants use the sun's
light to make food. Animals eat plants for food. And as we learned in
Chapter 5, decaying plants hundreds of millions of years ago produced the
coal, oil and natural gas that we use today. So, fossil fuels is actually
sunlight stored millions and millions of years ago. Indirectly, the sun or
other stars are responsible for ALL our energy. Even nuclear energy comes
from a star because the uranium atoms used in nuclear energy were created
in the fury of a nova - a star exploding. Let's look at ways in which we can
use the sun's energy.

Solar Hot Water

In the 1890s solar water heaters were being used all over the United States.
They proved to be a big improvement over wood and coal-burning stoves.
Artificial gas made from coal was available too to heat water, but it cost 10
times the price we pay for natural gas today. And electricity was even more
expensive if you even had any in your town! Many homes used solar water
heaters. In 1897, 30 percent of the homes in Pasadena, just east of Los
Angeles, were equipped with solar water heaters. As mechanical
improvements were made, solar systems were used in Arizona, Florida and
many other sunny parts of the United States. The picture shown here is a
solar water heater installed on the front roof of a house in Pomona Valley,
California, in 1911 (the panels are circled above the four windows).
Artificial gas made from coal was available too to heat water, but it cost 10
times the price we pay for natural gas today. And electricity was even more
expensive if you even had any in your town! Many homes used solar water
heaters. In 1897, 30 percent of the homes in Pasadena, just east of Los
Angeles, were equipped with solar water heaters. As mechanical
improvements were made, solar systems were used in Arizona, Florida and
many other sunny parts of the United States. The picture shown here is a
solar water heater installed on the front roof of a house in Pomona Valley,
California, in 1911 (the panels are circled above the four windows).

By 1920, ten of thousands of solar water heaters had been sold. By then,
however, large deposits of oil and natural gas were discovered in the western
United States. As these low cost fuels became available, solar water systems
began to be replaced with heaters burning fossil fuels. Today, solar water
heaters are making a comeback. There are more than half a million of them
in California alone! They heat water for use inside homes and businesses.
They also heat swimming pools like in the picture. Panels on the roof of a
building, like this one on the right, contain water pipes. When the sun hits
the panels and the pipes, the sunlight warms them. That warmed water can
then be used in a swimming pool.

Solar Thermal Electricity

Solar energy can also be used to make electricity.

Some solar power plants, like the one in the picture to the right in
California's Mojave Desert, use a highly curved mirror called a parabolic
trough to focus the sunlight on a pipe running down a central point above
the curve of the mirror. The mirror focuses the sunlight to strike the pipe,
and it gets so hot that it can boil water into steam. That steam can then be
used to turn a turbine to make electricity.
used to turn a turbine to make electricity.

In California's Mojave desert, there are huge rows of solar mirrors arranged
in what's called "solar thermal power plants" that use this idea to make
electricity for more than 350,000 homes. The problem with solar energy is
that it works only when the sun is shining. So, on cloudy days and at night,
the power plants can't create energy. Some solar plants, are a "hybrid"
technology. During the daytime they use the sun. At night and on cloudy
days they burn natural gas to boil the water so they can continue to make
electricity. Another form of solar power plants to make electricity is called a
Central Tower Power Plant, like the one to the right - the Solar Two Project.
Sunlight is reflected off 1,800 mirrors circling the tall tower. The mirrors are
called heliostats and move and turn to face the sun all day long.

The light is reflected back to the top of the tower in the center of the circle
where a fluid is turned very hot by the sun's rays. That fluid can be used to
boil water to make steam to turn a turbine and a generator. This
experimental power plant is called Solar II. It was re-built in California's
desert using newer technologies than when it was first built in the early
1980s. Solar II will use the sunlight to change heat into mechanical energy
in the turbine. The power plant will make enough electricity to power about
10,000 homes. Scientists say larger central tower power plants can make
electricity for 100,000 to 200,000 homes.

Solar Cells or Photovoltaic Energy

We can also change the

sunlight directly to
electricity using solar cells.
Solar cells are also called
photovoltaic cells - or PV
Solar Cells or Photovoltaic Energy

We can also change the

sunlight directly to
electricity using solar cells.
Solar cells are also called
photovoltaic cells - or PV
cells for short - and can be
found on many small
appliances, like
calculators, and even on
spacecraft. They were first
developed in the 1950s for
use on U.S. space
satellites. They are made
of silicon, a special type of
melted sand. When
sunlight strikes the solar
cell, electrons (red circles)
are knocked loose. They
move toward the treated
front surface (dark blue
color). An electron
imbalance is created
between the front and
back. When the two
surfaces are joined by a
connector, like a wire, a
current of electricity
occurs between the
negative and positive
sides. These individual
solar cells are arranged
together in a PV module
and the modules are
grouped together in an
array. Some of the arrays
are set on special tracking
devices to follow sunlight
all day long. The electrical
energy from solar cells can
then be used directly. It
can be used in a home for
lights and appliances. It
can be used in a business.
Solar energy can be stored
in batteries to light a
roadside billboard at
night. Or the energy can
be stored in a battery for
an emergency roadside
cellular telephone when no
telephone wires are
around. Some
experimental cars also use
can be used in a business.
Solar energy can be stored
in batteries to light a
roadside billboard at
night. Or the energy can
be stored in a battery for
an emergency roadside
cellular telephone when no
telephone wires are
around. Some
experimental cars also use
PV cells. They convert
sunlight directly into
energy to power electric
motors on the car. But
when most of us think of
solar energy, we think of
satellites in outer space.
Here's a picture of solar
panels extending out from
a satellite.

Wind Energy

Wind can be used to do work.

The kinetic energy of the wind
can be changed into other forms
of energy, either mechanical
energy or electrical energy.
When a boat lifts a sail, it is
using wind energy to push it
through the water. This is one
form of work. Farmers have been
using wind energy for many
years to pump water from wells
using windmills like the one on
the right. In Holland, windmills
have been used for centuries to
pump water from low-lying areas.
Wind is also used to turn large
grinding stones to grind wheat or
corn, just like a water wheel is
turned by water power. Today,
the wind is also used to make
electricity. Blowing wind spins
the blades on a wind turbine --
just like a large toy pinwheel.
This device is called a wind
turbine and not a windmill. A
windmill grinds or mills grain, or
is used to pump water. The
blades of the turbine are
attached to a hub that is
mounted on a turning shaft. The
shaft goes through a gear
transmission box where the
turning speed is increased. The
transmission is attached to a
This device is called a wind
turbine and not a windmill. A
windmill grinds or mills grain, or
is used to pump water. The
blades of the turbine are
attached to a hub that is
mounted on a turning shaft. The
shaft goes through a gear
transmission box where the
turning speed is increased. The
transmission is attached to a
high speed shaft which turns a
generator that makes electricity.
If the wind gets too high, the
turbine has a brake that will keep
the blades from turning too fast
and being damaged. You can use
a single smaller wind turbine to
power a home or a school. The
small turbine on the right makes
enough energy for a house. In
the picture on the left, the
children at this Iowa school are
playing beneath a wind turbine
that makes enough electricity to
power their entire school. We
have many windy areas in
California. And wind is blowing in
many places all over the earth.
The only problem with wind is
that it is not windy all the time.
In California, it is usually windier
during the summer months when
wind rushes inland from cooler
areas, like the ocean to replace
hot rising air in California's warm
central valleys and deserts. In
order for a wind turbine to work
efficiently, wind speeds usually
must be above 12 to 14 miles
per hour. Wind has to be this
speed to turn the turbines fast
enough to generate electricity.
The turbines usually produce
about 50 to 300 kilowatts of
electricity each. A kilowatt is
1,000 watts (kilo means 1,000).
You can light ten 100 watt light
bulbs with 1,000 watts. So, a
300 kilowatt (300,000 watts)
wind turbine could light up 3,000
light bulbs that use 100 watts!
As of 1999, there were 11,368
wind turbines in California. These
turbines are grouped together in
what are called wind "farms," like
those in Palm Springs in the
picture on the right. These wind
You can light ten 100 watt light
bulbs with 1,000 watts. So, a
300 kilowatt (300,000 watts)
wind turbine could light up 3,000
light bulbs that use 100 watts!
As of 1999, there were 11,368
wind turbines in California. These
turbines are grouped together in
what are called wind "farms," like
those in Palm Springs in the
picture on the right. These wind
farms are located mostly in the
three windiest areas of the state:

• Altamont Pass, east of San

Francisco
• San Gorgonio Pass, near
Palm Springs
• Tehachapi, south of
Bakersfield
Together these three places in
California make enough
electricity to supply an entire city
the size of San Francisco! About
11 percent of the entire world's
wind-generated electricity is
found in California. Other
countries that use a lot of wind
energy are Denmark and
Germany.
Once electricity is made by the
turbine, the electricity from the
entire wind farm is collected
together and sent through a
transformer. There the voltage is
increase to send it long distances
over high power lines.

Renewable Energy vs. Fossil Fuels

In Chapter 8, we discussed the world's supply of fossil fuels -- oil, coal and
natural gas and how it is being depleted slowly because of constant use.
Fossil fuels are not renewable, they can't be made again. Once they are
gone, they're gone. In Chapters 11 to 16, we learned that there's no
shortage of renewable energy from the sun, wind and water and even stuff
usually thought of as garbage -- dead trees, tree branches, yard clippings,
left-over crops, sawdust, even livestock manure, can produce electricity and
fuels -- resources collectively called "biomass." The sunlight falling on the
United States in one day contains more than twice the energy we consume
in an entire year. California has enough wind gusts to produce 11 percent of
the world's wind electricity. Clean energy sources can be harnessed to
produce electricity, process heat, fuel and valuable chemicals with less
impact on the environment. In contrast, emissions from cars fueled by
gasoline and factories and other facilities that burn oil affect the
atmosphere. Foul air results in so-called greenhouse gases. About -81% of
all U.S. greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide emissions from energy-related
sources. Renewable energy resource development will result in new jobs for
people and less oil we have to buy from foreign countries. According to the
fuels -- resources collectively called "biomass." The sunlight falling on the
United States in one day contains more than twice the energy we consume
in an entire year. California has enough wind gusts to produce 11 percent of
the world's wind electricity. Clean energy sources can be harnessed to
produce electricity, process heat, fuel and valuable chemicals with less
impact on the environment. In contrast, emissions from cars fueled by
gasoline and factories and other facilities that burn oil affect the
atmosphere. Foul air results in so-called greenhouse gases. About -81% of
all U.S. greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide emissions from energy-related
sources. Renewable energy resource development will result in new jobs for
people and less oil we have to buy from foreign countries. According to the
federal government, America spent $109 billion to import oil in 2000. If we
fully develop self-renewing resources, we will keep the money at home to
help the economy. Continued research has made renewable energy more
affordable today than 25 years ago. The cost of wind energy has declined
from 40� per kilowatt-hour to less than 5�. The cost of electricity from the
sun, through photovoltaics (literally meaning "light-electricity") has dropped
from more than $1/kilowatt-hour in 1980 to nearly 20�/kilowatt-hour today.
And ethanol fuel costs have plummeted from $4 per gallon in the early
1980s to $1.20 today. But there are also drawbacks to renewable energy
development. For example, solar thermal energy involving the collection of
solar rays through collectors (often times huge mirrors) need large tracts of
land as a collection site. This impacts the natural habitat, meaning the
plants and animals that live there. The environment is also impacted when
the buildings, roads, transmission lines and transformers are built. The fluid
most often used with solar thermal electric generation is very toxic and spills
can happen. Solar or PV cells use the same technologies as the production of
silicon chips for computers. The manufacturing process uses toxic chemicals.
Toxic chemicals are also used in making batteries to store solar electricity
through the night and on cloudy days.. Manufacturing this equipment has
environmental impacts. Also, even if we wanted to switch to solar energy
right away, we still have a big problem. All the solar production facilities in
the entire world only make enough solar cells to produce about 350
megawatts, about enough for a city of 300,000 people. that's a drop in the
bucket compared to our needs. California alone needs about 55,000
megawatts of electricity on a sunny, hot summer day. And the cost of
producing that much electricity would be about four times more expensive
than a regular natural gas-fired power plant. So, even though the renewable
power plant doesn't release air pollution or use precious fossil fuels, it still
has an impact on the environment. Wind power development too, has its
downside, mostly involving land use. The average wind farm requires 17
acres of land to produce one megawatt of electricity, about enough
electricity for 750 to 1,000 homes. However, farms and cattle grazing can
use the same land under the wind turbines. Wind farms could cause erosion
in desert areas. Most often, winds farms affect the natural view because they
tend to be located on or just below ridgelines. Bird deaths also occur due to
collisions with wind turbines and associated wires. This issue is the subject of
on-going research. Producing geothermal electricity from the earth's crust
tends to be localized. That means facilities have to be built where
geothermal energy is abundant. There are several geothermal resource
locations in California. The Geysers area north of San Francisco is an
example. In the course of geothermal production, steam coming from the
ground becomes very caustic at times, causing pipes to corrode and fall
apart. Geothermal power plants sometimes cost a little bit more than a gas-
fired power plant because they have to include the cost to drill.
Environmental concerns are associated with dams to produce hydroelectric
power. People are displaced and prime farmland and forests are lost in the
flooded areas above dams. Downstream, dams change the chemical, physical
tends to be localized. That means facilities have to be built where
geothermal energy is abundant. There are several geothermal resource
locations in California. The Geysers area north of San Francisco is an
example. In the course of geothermal production, steam coming from the
ground becomes very caustic at times, causing pipes to corrode and fall
apart. Geothermal power plants sometimes cost a little bit more than a gas-
fired power plant because they have to include the cost to drill.
Environmental concerns are associated with dams to produce hydroelectric
power. People are displaced and prime farmland and forests are lost in the
flooded areas above dams. Downstream, dams change the chemical, physical
and biological characteristics of the river and land. Unlike fossil fuels, which
dirties the atmosphere, renewable energy has less impact on the
environment Renewable energy production has some drawbacks, mainly
associated with the use of large of tracts of land that affects animal habitats
and outdoor scenery. Renewable energy development will result in jobs and
less oil imported from foreign countries.

Note: For those working on a school assignment comparing renewable vs.

non-renewable energy, we'd suggest creating a Pro and Con list for each
energy source. That will give you a a way to compare the various energy
resources.

Energy for Transportation

In California, about one-half of ALL the energy we use goes into

transportation - cars, planes, trucks, motorcycles, trains, buses. And of all
the oil we use in the state about three-quarters of all it goes into making
gasoline and diesel fuel for vehicles. As we learned in Chapter 8, oil goes
through a refinery where it is made into many different products. Some of
them are used for transportation: aviation fuel, gasoline and diesel fuel.
From the refinery and larger storage tank farms, transportation fuels are
usually trucked to service stations in tanker trucks. These trucks can hold
10,000 gallons in each tank. The tanker trucks deliver the gasoline to the
services stations. At service stations, the two grades of gasoline, regular and
premium, are kept in separate underground storage tanks. When you pump
the gasoline into your car, you are pumping it from those tanks below
ground. Mid-grade gasoline is a combination of the two types. Other
vehicles, such as trucks and some cars use diesel fuel, which is also made
from oil. It is brought to service stations the same way. California has more
than 26 million vehicles on its roads. All the vehicles in the state used 14.4
billion gallons of gasoline in 2001. That's more gasoline that all other
countries except for the United States and the former Soviet Union. This
makes California the third-largest user of gasoline in the world!
premium, are kept in separate underground storage tanks. When you pump
the gasoline into your car, you are pumping it from those tanks below
ground. Mid-grade gasoline is a combination of the two types. Other
vehicles, such as trucks and some cars use diesel fuel, which is also made
from oil. It is brought to service stations the same way. California has more
than 26 million vehicles on its roads. All the vehicles in the state used 14.4
billion gallons of gasoline in 2001. That's more gasoline that all other
countries except for the United States and the former Soviet Union. This
makes California the third-largest user of gasoline in the world!

Fourteen billion gallons of gasoline is enough to fill a line of 10,000

gallon tanker trucks stretched bumper to bumper from San Francisco
to San Diego, back to San Francisco, and then part of the way to
Sacramento!

Burning gasoline, however, creates air pollution. That's why oil companies
are creating newer types of gasoline that are cleaner than the kind we use
today. Beginning in 1996, all the gasoline sold in California will be this
newer, cleaner type called "reformulated gasoline." The main ingredient in
that gas, however, MTBE was found to hurt water supplies if it leaked. So,
that additive is being removed by 2005. Another concern about using oil for
transportation is that a lot of oil used comes form the Middle East. This
makes the U.S. very vulnerable if there is political unrest. During the 1970s,
Americans saw long lines at the gas pumps because oil from the Middle East
was turned off by the Oil Producing Exposting Countries - OPEC. And we're
in in worse shape in 2002 because we're importing more and more oil form
the Middle East than ever before.

Because of concerns about air pollution and petroleum-dependence, new

clean-burning fuels made from fuels other than oil are being introduced.
These fuels include methanol, ethanol, natural gas, propane and even
electricity. The car on the right uses methanol, the same fuel used in
Indianapolis Speedway race cars. All these fuels are called alternative fuels
because they are an alternative to gasoline and diesel. Cars and trucks that
use them are called Alternative Fuel Vehicles or AFVs. Right now, there are
only a small number of cars and trucks that are running on fuels other than
Because of concerns about air pollution and petroleum-dependence, new
clean-burning fuels made from fuels other than oil are being introduced.
These fuels include methanol, ethanol, natural gas, propane and even
electricity. The car on the right uses methanol, the same fuel used in
Indianapolis Speedway race cars. All these fuels are called alternative fuels
because they are an alternative to gasoline and diesel. Cars and trucks that
use them are called Alternative Fuel Vehicles or AFVs. Right now, there are
only a small number of cars and trucks that are running on fuels other than
gasoline and diesel. Energy officials hope, however, that one-quarter of all
the vehicles will run on alternative fuels by the year 2025. For more on
alternative fuel vehicles, we have a whole section on Energy Quest. Go to our
Transportation Section.

Saving Energy and Energy Conservation

Some of the energy we can use is called renewable energy. These include
solar, wind, geothermal and hydro. These types of energy are constantly
being renewed or restored. But many of the other forms of energy we use in
our homes and cars are not being replenished. Fossil fuels took millions of
years to create. They cannot be made over night. And there are finite or
limited amounts of these non-renewable energy sources. That means they
cannot be renewed or replenished. Once they are gone they cannot be used
again. So, we must all do our part in saving as much energy as we can.

In your home, you can save energy by turning off appliances, TVs and radios
that are not being used, watched or listened to. You can turn off lights when
no one is in the room. By putting insulation in walls and attics, we can
In your home, you can save energy by turning off appliances, TVs and radios
that are not being used, watched or listened to. You can turn off lights when
no one is in the room. By putting insulation in walls and attics, we can
reduce the amount of energy it takes to heat or cool our homes. Insulating a
home is like putting on a sweater or jacket when we're cold...instead of
turning up the heat. The outer layers trap the heat inside, keeping it nice
and warm. New space-age materials are being developed that insulate even
better. This person's fingers are protected by Aerogel Insulation Material
created by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The person cannot
even feel the flame!

Recycling

To make all of our newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other
goods takes lots of energy.

Recycling these items -- grinding them up and reusing the material again --
uses less energy than it takes to make them from brand new, raw material.
So, we must all recycle as much as we can. We can also save energy in our
cars and trucks. Make sure the tires are properly inflated. A car that is tuned
up, has clean air and oil filters, and is running right will use less gasoline.
Don't over-load a car. For every extra 100 pounds, you cut your mileage by
one mile per gallon. When your parents buy a new car, tell them to compare
the fuel efficiency of different models and buy a car that gets higher miles
per gallon.

You can also save energy in your school. Each week you can choose an
You can also save energy in your school. Each week you can choose an
energy monitor who will make sure energy is being used properly. The
energy monitor will turn off the lights during recess and after class. You can
make "Turn It Off" signs for hanging above the light switches to remind
yourself. Also check out our on-line pages on Saving Energy.You can make
sure your classmates recycle all aluminum cans and plastic bottles, and
make sure the library is recycling the newspapers and the school is recycling
its paper.

Hydrogen and Future Energy Sources

We learned in Chapter 8 that fossil fuels were formed before and during the
time of the dinosaurs - when plants and animals died. Their decomposed
remains gradually changed over the years to form coal, oil and natural gas.
Fossil fuels took millions of years to make. We are using up the fuels formed
more than 65 million years ago. They can't be renewed; they can't be made
again. We can save fossil fuels by conserving and finding ways to harness
energy from seemingly "endless sources," like the sun and the wind. We
can't use fossil fuels forever as they are a non-renewable and finite resource.
Some people suggest that we should start using hydrogen. Hydrogen is a
colorless, odorless gas that accounts for 75 percent of the entire universe's
mass. Hydrogen is found on Earth only in combination with other elements
such as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. To use hydrogen, it must be separated
from these other elements. Today, hydrogen is used primarily in ammonia
manufacturing, petroleum refining and synthesis of methanol. It's also used
in NASA's space program as fuel for the space shuttles, and in fuel cells that
provide heat, electricity and drinking water for astronauts. Fuel cells are
devices that directly convert hydrogen into electricity. In the future,
hydrogen could be used to fuel vehicles (such as the DaimlerChrysler NeCar
4 shown in the picture to the right) and aircraft, and provide power for our
homes and offices. Hydrogen can be made from molecules called
hydrocarbons by applying heat, a process known as "reforming" hydrogen.
This process makes hydrogen from natural gas. An electrical current can also
be used to separate water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen in a
process called electrolysis. Some algae and bacteria, using sunlight as their
energy source, give off hydrogen under certain conditions. Hydrogen as a
fuel is high in energy, yet a machine that burns pure hydrogen produces
provide heat, electricity and drinking water for astronauts. Fuel cells are
devices that directly convert hydrogen into electricity. In the future,
hydrogen could be used to fuel vehicles (such as the DaimlerChrysler NeCar
4 shown in the picture to the right) and aircraft, and provide power for our
homes and offices. Hydrogen can be made from molecules called
hydrocarbons by applying heat, a process known as "reforming" hydrogen.
This process makes hydrogen from natural gas. An electrical current can also
be used to separate water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen in a
process called electrolysis. Some algae and bacteria, using sunlight as their
energy source, give off hydrogen under certain conditions. Hydrogen as a
fuel is high in energy, yet a machine that burns pure hydrogen produces
almost zero pollution. NASA has used liquid hydrogen since the 1970s to
propel rockets and now the space shuttle into orbit. Hydrogen fuel cells
power the shuttle's electrical systems, producing a clean by-product - pure
water, which the crew drinks. You can think of a fuel cell as a battery that is
constantly replenished by adding fuel to it - it never loses its charge. To view
a FLASH video of how a fuel cell works, go to the Ballard Power Systems
website.

Fuel Cell Uses

Fuel cells are a promising technology for use as a source of heat and
electricity in buildings, and as an electrical power source for vehicles. Auto
companies are working on building cars and trucks that use fuel cells. In a
fuel cell vehicle, an electrochemical device converts hydrogen (stored on
board) and oxygen from the air into electricity, to drive an electric motor
and power the vehicle. Although these applications would ideally run off pure
hydrogen, in the near term they are likely to be fueled with natural gas,
methanol or even gasoline. Reforming these fuels to create hydrogen will
allow the use of much of our current energy infrastructure - gas stations,
natural gas pipelines, etc. - while fuel cells are phased in. In the future,
hydrogen could also join electricity as an important energy carrier. An
energy carrier stores, moves and delivers energy in a usable form to
consumers. Renewable energy sources, like the sun, can't produce energy all
the time. The sun doesn't always shine. But hydrogen can store this energy
until it is needed and can be transported to where it is needed. Some
experts think that hydrogen will form the basic energy infrastructure that
will power future societies, replacing today's natural gas, oil, coal, and
electricity infrastructures. They see a new "hydrogen economy" to replace
our current "fossil fuel-based economy," although that vision probably won't
happen until far in the future.

Solar Power Satellites

One suggestion for energy in the future is to put huge solar power satellites
One suggestion for energy in the future is to put huge solar power satellites
into orbit around the earth. They would collect solar energy from the sun,
convert it to electricity and beam it to Earth as microwaves or some other
form of transmission. The power would have no greenhouse gas emissions,
but microwave beams might affect health adversely. And frequent rocket
launches may harm the upper atmosphere. This idea may not be practical
for another century; if at all. The picture on the right is an early and simple
drawing of how a space solar power satellite would beam energy to electrical
power grid on Earth.

Other Ideas

Some people have claimed they've invented a machine that will "save the
planet." Others are convinced that there's a vast conspiracy by fossil fuel
and / or nuclear power companies to stop such devices from getting to the
public. Some of these contraptions use theories called "Free Energy," "Over
Unity" or "Zero-Point Energy." As a matter of fact, you can find all sorts of
information about such devices on the Internet. Just plug in any of those
words. But none of these devices have ever been proven, either theoretically
or physically. The "free energy" area is filled with con artists selling
unintelligible information, often clouded with technical sounding jargon, and
seeking people with money to develop their inventions or ideas. As the old
saying goes, "a fool and his money are soon parted." Most of these devices
are perpetual motion machines, which violate known laws of science. Even
the U.S. Patent Office will not issue a patent for such devices. With energy
and the universe (at least as we know it today), there's no such thing as a
free lunch; or free energy. You can't get energy from nothing because of the
fundamental laws of physics that energy cannot be created or destroyed.
What about matter and anti-matter? What about energy that they use on
Star Trek and in other science fiction stories? The ideas are interesting, but
they are still fiction. Though science fiction has a basis in some fact. Jules
Verne wrote about traveling under the water more than a hundred years
ago, and today we have submarines. He also wrote about going to the moon,
and in 1969 humans first set foot on our closest neighbor in space. So, while
some ideas being used by writers are fiction... there could be some basis in
fact. Who knows, someone might create a mater-antimatter energy system
that could revolutionize the way we think about energy and our universe.

Conclusion

Imagination is more
important than knowledge,
for knowledge is limited,
whereas imagination
embraces the entire world
- stimulating progress,
Conclusion

Imagination is more
important than knowledge,
for knowledge is limited,
whereas imagination
embraces the entire world
- stimulating progress,
giving birth to evolution.
- Albert Einstein

To make sure we have plenty of energy in the future, it's up to all of us to

use energy wisely. We must all conserve energy and use it efficiently. It's
also up to those who will create the new energy technologies of the future.
All energy sources have an impact on the environment. Concerns about the
greenhouse effect and global warming, air pollution, and energy security
have led to increasing interest and more development in renewable energy
sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, wave power and hydrogen. But
we'll need to continue to use fossil fuels and nuclear energy until new,
cleaner technologies can replace them. One of you who is reading this might
be another Albert Einstein or Marie Curie and find a new source of energy.
Until then, it's up to all of us. The future is ours, but we need energy to get
there.

THANK YOU
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/