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Biomass: (plant material) is a renewable energy source because the energy it contains comes from the sun. Through the process of , plants capture the sun's energy. When the plants are burned, they release the sun's energy they contain.
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Biofuel: Liquid is usually either bioalcohol such as bioethanol or oil such as biodiesel. is made from , or recycled greases.
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Geothermal: Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping the heat of the earth itself, both from kilometers deep into the Earth's crust in some places of the globe or from some meters in in all the places of the planet. Ultimately, this energy derives from heat in the 's core.
Energy in its different forms:
The First Law of Thermodynamics says that “energy under normal conditions cannot be created or destroyed, simply transformed from one type of energy to another”. Thus a chemical reaction such as lighting a match does not create new energy but only converts one type of energy to another. What's happening with the match is that as the match is burnt, potential energy is released and converted to heat and light, kinetic energy.
Kinetic Energy: Kinetic or mechanical energy is the most familiar form of energy. It is the energy a substance or system has because of its motion. Every moving object has mechanical energy. A simple example of this is a moving car.
Potential Energy: This is energy which an object has because of its changed position, shape or state.
Electrical Potential Energy: Electrical energy is the energy carried by moving electrons in an electric conductor. It cannot be seen, but it is one of our most useful forms of energy because it is relatively easy to transmit and use. All matter consists of atoms, and every atom contains one or more electrons, which are always moving. When electrons are forced along a path in a conducting substance such as a wire, the result is energy called electricity. Electrons transfer energy from, for example, a battery to a light bulb.
Chemical Potential Energy: Energy stored in the bonds between atoms in molecules is chemical energy. The stored energy is released when these compounds break down into simpler compounds. For example, Digestion converts stored energy in food to other forms of energy that your body can use, such as mechanical energy to walk across the room. Batteries store this type of energy.
Thermal Energy: Thermal energy is the energy a substance or system has related to its temperature, i.e., the energy of moving or vibrating molecules. Atoms and molecules, the smallest particles of any substance, are always in motion. For example, in a car engine, burning fuel produces hot gases which expand, push on pistons and make them move. The energy here is converted from chemical energy to thermal energy and then finally to mechanical energy which makes the car move.
Nuclear Potential Energy: A release of nuclear energy occurs when the nuclei of atoms are changed. Nuclear energy is released during atomic fission, when uranium nuclei are split. Fission's heat is used to generate electric power in hundreds of locations worldwide. The sun and other stars use fusion to generate radiant and thermal energy. As stars give off energy, they lose mass.
Radiant Energy: Atoms absorb energy from an outside source and release (or "emit") this energy as electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can be in the form of waves of many different wavelengths or frequencies. Many energy sources emit radiant energy. The sun and other stars are luminous or "light-giving" objects that produce radiant energy from nuclear reactions.
Gravitational Potential Energy: A stone help up in the air can do work when dropped because gravity will pull it downwards. The stone has gravitational potential energy.
Elastic Potential Energy (strain energy): A stretched spring can do work when released, so can a compressed spring. Both have elastic potential energy.
Law of Conservation of Energy:
The law of conservation of energy states that energy may neither be created nor destroyed. Therefore the sum of all the energies in the system is a constant. During each transformation, the total amount of energy stays the same.
But if energy is never lost but just transformed, where does the energy lost as heat (respiration) in our bodies end up? Scientists claim that when we consume something, we only take in 10% of its energy and the other 90% is lost as heat. Another example is sweating when you exercise. Energy is lost as thermal energy when you exercise. We have not yet found the answer to where the heat energy goes from our bodies.
Conclusion
Energy is vital to us and we should learn to harness energy from renewable sources to reduce pollution. Nonrenewable sources can run out quite quickly and that is why we should switch over to renewable sources. Renewable sources are naturally replenished and so we do not have to worry about them running out. It would be disastrous if the world ran out of energy because almost all our activities depend on energy.
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