Chapter 12 Flashcards
What is Work?
The application of force through a distance.
What is Energy?
The capacity to do work.
What is Power?
The rate of flow of energy, or the rate at which work is done.
What is a BTU?
British thermal unit, the energy required to heat one 1 lb of water 1 degree (faranheit).
What is a joule?
the ammount of work done by a force needed to accelerate 1 kilogram 1 meter per second. Another definition i sthe force of an electrical current of 1 amp/second through a resistance of 1 ohm.
What percentage of the world’s energy comes from coal?
26%
What percent of the world’s energy comes from oil?
37%
What percent of the world’s energy comes from gas?
24%
What percentage of the US’s energy supply is produced by Nuclear Power?
7%
Name 2 things that have made Nuclear power less attractive and popular?
Construction costs, safety concerns, nuclear waste, terrorist threats.
In a nuclear reactor, what do the control rods absorb?
Neutrons, this is to control reaction rate.
What is used to remove excess heat in a nuclear reactor?
Water or other cooling fluid, possibly saline solution.
U235 is a
Radioactive isotope of uraniam U238
What takes place in the core of a nuclear reactor?
Nuclear fission.
70% of the world’s Nuclear power plants are…
PWR’s, or Pressurized Water Reactors.
How many tons of radioactive waste exists in the US?
200 million tons.
List some drawbacks to dams for hydroelectricity
Human displacement, ecosystem destruction, Wildlife Losses, Large-Scale Flooding Due to Dam Failures, Sedimentation, Herbicide Contamination, Evaporative Losses, Nutrient Flow Retardation.
Negative Impacts of Wind Farms include:
Interruption of view in remote places
Destruction of sense of isolation
Potential to kill birds
