The Science of Energy: Resources and Power Explained

197 Pages·2016·3.15 MB·english

by  Michael E. Wysession

Topic Subtopic
Science & Mathematics Earth Sciences
The Science of Energy
Resources and Power Explained
Course Guidebook
Professor Michael E. Wysession
Washington University in St. Louis
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Michael E. Wysession, Ph.D.
Professor of Earth and
Planetary Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Michael E. Wysession
is a Professor of Earth
and Planetary Sciences at
Washington University in St. Louis.
He earned his Sc.B. from Brown University and his Ph.D. from
Northwestern University, both in Geophysics.
An established leader in seismology and geoscience education, Dr.
Wysession is noted for his development of new ways to visualize the
propagation of seismic waves and to use those waves in creating three-
dimensional images of Earth’s interior. These images have provided
scientists with insights into the makeup of Earth and its evolution
throughout history. Much of Dr. Wysession’s seismological research
has focused on determining the composition of Earth’s deep mantle,
particularly the enigmatic boundary between Earth’s rocky mantle and
liquid iron outer core.
Dr. Wysession has received many awards for his research and
teaching and has been a leader in university education reform. He has
coauthored more than 50 refereed scientific publications and more
than 20 textbooks, including the graduate-level text An Introduction to
Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure and the K–8 educational
program Interactive Science. Dr. Wysession led the Earth and Space
Sciences team in the writing of the new national K–12 Next Generation
Science Standards, which are revolutionizing the teaching of science in
primary and secondary schools. He is a frequent guest on television and
ii Science of Energy
radio programs concerned with earthquakes, Earth structure, and science
education.
For The Great Courses, Dr. Wysession also has taught How the Earth
Works; The World’s Greatest Geological Wonders: 36 Spectacular Sites;
and part of Polar Explorations (cobranded with National Geographic). ■
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Professor Biography ............................................................................i
Course Scope .....................................................................................1
LECTURE GUIDES
LECTUrE 1
Energy and Human Civilization.........................................................4
LECTUrE 2
Energy: Forms and Conversion for Use .........................................11
LECTUrE 3
Heat: The Transfer and Flow of Energy ..........................................19
LECTUrE 4
Electricity: Ultimate Energy Converter ............................................27
LECTUrE 5
Chemical Energy, Biomass, and Photosynthesis ...........................35
LECTUrE 6
Coal: Convenient, Energy-Dense Fuel ...........................................42
LECTUrE 7
Petroleum: Chemistry, retrieval, and Use ......................................49
LECTUrE 8
New Petroleum Directions ..............................................................56
LECTUrE 9
Fossil Fuel Energy: Issues and Concerns ......................................62
iv The Science of Energy: resources and Power Explained
LECTUrE 10
Understanding Carbon Dioxide.......................................................69
LECTUrE 11
The Science of Nuclear Power .......................................................76
LECTUrE 12
The Nuclear Fission Fuel Cycle ......................................................84
LECTUrE 13
Sunlight: Inexhaustible Energy Source ...........................................92
LECTUrE 14
Solar Power and Electricity .............................................................99
LECTUrE 15
Wind Power and Electricity ...........................................................106
LECTUrE 16
Hydroelectric Power: Electricity from Water .................................114
LECTUrE 17
Biofuels: Biodiesel and Ethanol ....................................................122
LECTUrE 18
Geothermal Energy.......................................................................129
LECTUrE 19
Energy Storage Technologies .......................................................137
LECTUrE 20
Energy Needs for Transportation ..................................................145
LECTUrE 21
Energy Efficiency: Technologies and Trends ................................152
LECTUrE 22
Energy Sources: Economics and Politics .....................................161
Table of Contents v
LECTUrE 23
Probable and Possible Future Energy Sources ............................168
LECTUrE 24
Energy Trends: Planning for the Near Future ...............................175
SUPPLEMENTaL MaTERIaL
Bibliography ..................................................................................182
Image Credits ...............................................................................188

The Science of Energy:
Resources and Power Explained
Scope:
This course will examine the science of energy and present a
balanced view of humanity’s energy resource options moving
into the future. Everything that humans do requires energy, from
the food we eat to the homes we live in and the cars we drive. Humans
use an enormous amount of energy for a wide variety of purposes. That
need continues to increase as the human population grows and the
levels of industrialization increase for much of the world. To provide these
energy needs, humans draw on a wide portfolio of energy resources that
include both renewable and nonrenewable sources. At some point in the
future, humans will predominantly rely on renewable energy sources,
such as solar and wind power. For most of the 21st century, however,
the nonrenewable sources of coal, oil, gas, and nuclear fission will likely
continue to dominate.
The first part of the course will present the fundamentals of energy
from scientific and engineering perspectives, examining the forms of
energy, the ways that energy converts from one form to another, and the
unforgiving laws of thermodynamics, which govern the evolution of the
universe and everything in it. Humans use significant amounts of energy
in the form of electricity, which can be created using a generator from
any number of original sources. However, most generators operate from
steam-turned turbines, and the steam comes from heat created by the
burning of fossil fuels or the nuclear fission of uranium. Heat is a major
end use of energy, not only for generating electricity but also for heating
homes and carrying out all kinds of industrial processes.
Nearly all of the energy we use originates from the Sun. Sunlight
provides the energy for photosynthesis, and burning the chemical energy
2 The Science of Energy: resources and Power Explained
of leaves and sticks for heat and cooking was the first human energy
source. Biomass still remains the primary source of energy for almost
half of the world’s population. The fossil fuels are, in a sense, fossilized
sunbeams; they are the concentrated forms of organic materials left over
from organisms that lived tens to hundreds of millions of years ago. Coal
formed from fossilized bogs and swamps, compacted from the deposition
of overlying sediments from eons of continental deposition. Oil and natural
gas deposits originated in the ocean from the accumulated bottom layer
of organic debris that continuously rains down across the ocean as
photosynthetic plankton at the surface die and fall to the ocean floor.
The fossil fuels are responsible for the remarkable industrial and
technological transformation of human culture over the past few centuries,
beginning with coal in the 18th century and transitioning to petroleum.
The convenience and high energy density of the fossil fuels provided
the vast amounts of energy needed to construct our cities and armies
and transform Earth’s surface to be under human control. Such use has
not been without consequences, however, as the high pollution content
resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels creates significant human
and environmental damages, and the 9 billion tons of carbon released
into the atmosphere each year contributes to the current rapid heating
of the planet’s surface. In addition, the uneven distribution of petroleum
has fueled most of the political conflicts of the past half century. Humans
are unique among the animal kingdom for their high level of cleverness,
however, and many engineering innovations are being developed to
minimize the negative impacts of burning fossil fuels.
The world already has begun to see the transition to renewable energy
sources, driven by market forces, as the steadily dropping costs of
solar and wind power, combined with their free sources of energy and
lack of pollutants, make them the fastest-growing energy technologies.
The intermittent supply of wind and sunlight, however, is also driving
a rapid development in energy storage technologies that include
chemical storage (batteries), gravitational storage (predominantly
pumped hydroelectric), thermal storage, and even mechanical storage
(as flywheels). The power from nuclear fission has garnered renewed
attention because of its lack of greenhouse gas emissions, but insufficient