CONSERVATION OF ENERGY Since the beginning of time, energy has pervaded our earth.

These days we rely on it to advance in our technological developments. We also need energy for a variety of other things such as: to keep our bodies alive and healthy, to run our machines and other technical devices, we also rely on energy to keep warm in winter and cool in summer. Energy is the ability to do work. People and other things can run out of energy (e.g. a marathon runner) in which case they can no longer have the ability to do work. In a mechanical situation, if a machine has energy it has the ability to apply a force to another body. There are many different forms of energy and there are many different places by which energy can be gathered. Forms of energy include: Potential energy, kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy and there are many more. Energy can be gathered in many ways using our natural recourses from the environment, for example: solar energy (from the sun) and hydroelectricity (where electricity is gathered by rushing water) Hydroelectricity is when electricity is generated by rotating coils of wire (rotors) between the poles of a magnet. The rotors are turned by rushing water falling over them. In a hydroelectric plant, water in usually stored in a damn. As the water falls down and rushes over the vanes connected to the rotors it looses gravitational potential energy and gains kinetic energy. As the metal wire rotates around the magnet it generates electricity which is then sent along power lines to all areas of the city or town. Here is a description of the transformation of energy as a pole-vaulter completes a jump. Firstly, when the pole-vaulter runs forward the muscles in the legs are doing work as a result of energy to push him/her forward. As the pole digs into the ground and stops, the forward motion of the runner causes the pole to bend, giving it elastic potential energy. If the pole-vaulter were to let go of the pole at this point, the pole release upwards rapidly. As he/she jumps off the ground, it slowly releases the elastic potential energy of the pole and transforms it into kinetic energy, forcing the pole-vaulter upward and forward. If he/she jumps too early, there would not be enough elastic potential energy created to force him/her over the bar. Also if the pole-vaulter doesnt run fast enough, there will not be the required kinetic energy to force him/her forward over the bar. Conservation of energy also has another meaning and that is to save energy. As the natural energy sources become scarcer it is important to learn how to save energy. One way of doing this is to create an energy efficient home. To create an energy efficient home there are many measures that can be taken to save energy, they include: solar energy, as the sun is a constant natural energy resource we can store that energy and use it to heat out water. Sleep mode on computers, computers are definitely becoming more and more popular in homes, if and only if the computer needs to be on at all times you should use the sleep mode which lets the computer run on the minimum amount if energy needed. Last but not least, energy can be conserved by doing the simple things around the home to lessen the usage of the machines that do work: example, turning applications off at the power point instead of just at the switch on the appliance and shutting all windows and doors and closing all curtains to keep the heat in the house instead of relying on the heater to do all the work, and vise-versa in the summer, to open all the windows and doors to let the cool air in instead of relying on the air conditioner. It is important for all people to realize the need for conserving energy. It is impossible for all the natural resources to keep up with our forever advancing civilization, and supply us with the energy that we need. SECOND

Energy is defined as the capacity to do work. The English physicist Thomas Young (1773-1829) used the term energy. It is found in many forms like light, heat, atomic and subatomic behavior, etc. Energy can be converted from one form to another and the total energy in any closed system remains constant. In classical physics, this principle was known as conservation of energy; in modern physics, it is termed the conservation of mass and energy. In classical physics, there are two types of energy: kinetic and potential. (Modern physics recognizes a third type, rest-mass energy.) When two moving objects collide, the first object may bounce off the second in a new direction but with no change in speed, or it may slow down, or it may be blown to pieces. The work performed by a moving object in coming to rest is known as kinetic energy. The larger an object is and the faster it moves, the greater will be its kinetic energy. Mathematically, the kinetic energy of a moving object is equal to one-half the product of its mass times the square of its velocity. The action of a pendulum provides an excellent example of the interconversion of potential and kinetic energy. The potential energy achieves maximum value when the pendulum is at either extreme of its swinging motion; it decreases to zero when the pendulum is vertical to the ground. The kinetic energy is zero when the pendulum is at its extreme position, and maximum when the pendulum is in the vertical position. In the Sun, the process of thermonuclear fusion converts atoms of hydrogen into helium atoms, producing radiant energy. Some of this radiant energy reaches the Earth. Some of this energy reaches plants, which may eventually form coal or be used by other organisms dependent on plants for food. Part of the solar energy contributes to the evaporation of ocean water, which returns to Earth in the form of rain. And this rainwater may be converted into hydroelectric energy by generating plants. As science evolved, other forms of energy were recognized. When James Clerk Maxwell succeeded in formulating the laws of electromagnetism, it became possible to recognize electrical energy as yet another manifestation of energy. THIRD : Energy is an essential input for the industrial development. Energy is produced from commercial sources like coal, petroleum, hydroelectric schemes as well as from non-commercial sources like cowdung, fuelwood and agriculture wastes. Per capital consumption of commercial energy is something used as an index of the economic advancement that a country as attained. Indias per capita consumption of commercial energy, however, is very low. It is only one eight of the world average. Commercial energy accounts for a little over half of the total energy used in the country, the rest coming from non-commercial sources. Share of agriculture in commercial energy consumption has risen rapidly over the past two-and-a-half decades. Energy generation and environmental conservation are the twin issues arising from exploitative interaction of man with natural resources. Report of the International Energy Agency contains a simple but remarkable statement: Investment in energy conservation at the margin provides a better return than investment in energy supply. Now, what do mean by this? This means that conservation of a unit of energy is cheaper and environmentally more desirable than to generate an additional unit. For, it is estimated that generation of every additional kilowatt for one hour of energy requires an investment of Rs. 7,000 to 12,000 in the form of new energy generation equipments.

Excessive utilization of coal and oil for generation of electricity leads to the multiple problems of acid rain, and rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. There are also political and economic implications like the increasing tension in the Persian Gulf, which is the major petroleum exporting area, and failing international competitiveness. All these threaten to strangle the world economy in a stagnation. Let us see how some steps taken to resolve these complex problems have tangled the issues further. To reduce dependence on oil for generation of electricity by burning coal and oil, hydroelectric power stations and atomic energy stations were advocated. Huge dams can make substantial contributions to economic development in electricity-short developing countries like India, but as in any large-scale electricity generating option, there are trade-offs. Reservoirs inundate forests, farmland and wildlife habitats and uproot entire communities of indigenous people. Thus, hasty solutions to a given problem may create more complications rather than solving it. In the recent past, countries have been expanding their energy budget presumably thinking that energy expenditure was the only way to development, but today the perspective has changed. One of the greatest challenges facing poor countries is to meet their energy needs without repeating the mistakes made by the rich countries. A goal of reducing national energy expenditure, if pursued rigorously, can lead to a strong emphasis on energy efficiency, improve economic competitiveness, and limit oil dependence. A policy of Polluter pays must be adopted. In effect, this means specific disincentives are required to ensure that industries do not become too heavily dependent on fossil fuels that threaten lifesupport systems. The need of the day is to insist on industries adopting clean technologies wherever available. The answer to the countrys energy needs can only life in adopting non-conventional sources of energy. A beginning is being made by Government of India to give the same type of resources and support to developing alternative sources of energy as have so far been extended to the development of conventional energy sources. The latter, as experience has shown, pose a great danger to the environment. Many environmentally safe alternatives have been found today, which await encouragement from the Government for proper exploitation. FOURTH: