Energy

Question 1

Roman case study

Answer 1

Energy shocks have been common throughout history. Romans experienced shocks when they ran out of wood to heat their homes. Eventually harnessed solar power

Question 2

Peak oil

Answer 2

The time when half of all oil on Earth will have been extracted.

Question 3

Fossil fuels

Answer 3

Fuels such as coal, oil, and gas formed by the alteration and decomposition of plants and animals from a previous geologic time.

Question 4

joule

Answer 4

The basic unit for energy expenditure

Question 5

Coal

Answer 5

A sedimentary rock formed from plant material that has been buried, compressed, and changed.`

Question 6

strip mining

Answer 6

open-pit mining

Question 7

mountain-top removal

Answer 7

Coal is mined from tops of mountains, and the waste rock from mining is placed in valleys, where coal sludge produced from processing the coal is stored behind coal-waste sludge dams

Question 8

coal sludge

Answer 8

a thick sludge composed of water, with particles of coal, rock, and clay.

Question 9

Oil

Answer 9

When referring to energy resources, may also be known as petroleum or crude oil; a liquid hydrocarbon generally extracted from wells.

Question 10

Natural gas

Answer 10

Sometimes also referred to as natural energy gas or hydrocarbons that include ethane, propane, butane, and hydrogen.

Question 11

source rock

Answer 11

Oil and natural gas originate primarily in fine-grained, organic-rich sediment, referred to as source rock. It is buried to depths of 1 to 3 km (0.6 to 2 mi) and subjected to heat and pressure that physically compress it.

Question 12

biogenic gas

Answer 12

Natural gas that forms close to the surface of Earth by biological processes

Question 13

reservoir rocks

Answer 13

porous, permeable rocks, such as sandstone or fractured limestone

Question 14

cap rock

Answer 14

relatively impervious barrier that impeded the upward migration of oil and gas`

Question 15

Primary recovery

Answer 15

uses natural reservoir pressure to move the oil to the well, where it can then be pumped to the surface

Question 16

enhanced recovery methods

Answer 16

The enhancement manipulates reservoir pressure by injection of natural gas, water, steam, chemicals, or some combination of those, into the reservoir, pushing petroleum to wells where it can be lifted to the surface by means of the familiar “horse head” bobbing pumps, submersible pumps, or other lift methods.

Question 17

Coal-bed methane

Answer 17

Methane stored on surfaces of organic matter in coal.

Question 18

tight gas

Answer 18

Devonian shale buried 1 km or so beneath northern Appalachia contains as much as 500 trillion ft3 of natural gas, of which 10 percent is a potential resource. The methane, known as tight gas, is distributed in very small tight openings throughout the black shale. Tight gas is an unconventional reservoir compared to conventional natural gas reservoirs where methane is in pockets related to geologic structure

Question 19

Methane hydrate

Answer 19

white, ice-like material composed of molecules of methane gas surrounded by “cages” of frozen water.

Question 20

Oil shale

Answer 20

fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter that, when heated, yields significant amounts of oil and gas

Question 21

destructive distillation

Answer 21

Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter that, when heated, yields significant amounts of oil and gas—oil yield is generally 100 to 200 L per ton of oil shale—that are otherwise insoluble in ordinary petroleum solvents. This process is known as destructive distillation

Question 22

Tar sands

Answer 22

rocks that are impregnated with tar oil, asphalt, or other petroleum materials

Question 23

Wet acid deposition

Answer 23

occurs when pollutants, acid precursors such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), react with water vapor in the atmosphere, producing acids.

Question 24

Dry acid deposition

Answer 24

ccurs when the particles containing acid precursors fall to Earth and then react with water to produce acids.

Question 25

Acid rain

Answer 25

Rain made artificially acidic by pollutants, particularly oxides of sulfur and nitrogen; natural rain water is slightly acidic owing to the effect of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water.

Question 26

. Buffering

Answer 26

refers to the ability of a material to neutralize acids

Question 27

Nuclear energy

Answer 27

Generation of electricity using a nuclear reactor.

Question 28

Nuclear fission

Answer 28

the splitting of atomic nuclei by neutron bombardment

Question 29

radioisotopes

Answer 29

Some isotopes, called radioisotopes, are radioactive and spontaneously undergo nuclear decay. Nuclear decay occurs when a radioisotope undergoes a nuclear change while emitting one or more forms of radioactive radiation.

Question 30

The three major kinds of radiation

Answer 30

alpha particles (α), beta particles (β), and gamma radiation (γ)

Question 31

enriched uranium

Answer 31

Naturally occurring uranium is processed to increase the amount of U-235 from 0.7 percent to about 3 percent before it is used in a reactor. The processed fuel is called enriched uranium.

Question 32

burner reactors

Answer 32

Most reactors today consume more fissionable material than they produce and are known as burner reactors

Question 33

meltdown

Answer 33

refers to a nuclear accident in which the nuclear fuel becomes so hot that it forms a molten mass. The containment of the reactor fails, and radioactivity contaminates the environment.

Question 34

Three Mile Island.

Answer 34

One of the most serious events in the history of U.S. nuclear power occurred on March 28, 1979, at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The malfunction of a valve and human errors at the nuclear plant resulted in a partial core meltdown, with the release of radioisotopes into the environment

Question 35

Radioactive waste management,

Answer 35

the safe disposal of radioactive waste

Question 36

Low-level radioactive wastes

Answer 36

contain only small amounts of radioactive substances

Question 37

Transuranic waste

Answer 37

nuclear waste composed of human-made radioactive elements heavier than uranium

Question 38

High-level radioactive wastes

Answer 38

produced as fuel assemblages in nuclear reactors become contaminated or clogged with large quantities of fission products.

Question 39

tuff

Answer 39

a rock composed of compacted volcanic ash

Question 40

nuclear fusion

Answer 40

combines the nuclei of lighter elements to produce heavier ones

Question 41

Geothermal energy

Answer 41

The use of geothermal energy—natural heat from Earth’s interior—is an exciting application of geologic knowledge and engineering technology.

Question 42

geothermal gradient

Answer 42

Temperature increases with depth below Earth’s surface; it is measured in degrees per kilometer and is referred to as the geothermal gradient.

Question 43

Vapor-dominated hydrothermal convection systems

Answer 43

convection systems are geothermal reservoirs in which both water and steam are present

Question 44

hot-water hydrothermal convection systems

Answer 44

In the United States, hot-water hydrothermal convection systems are about 20 times more common than vapor-dominated systems. Hot-water systems, with temperatures greater than 150°C (300°F), have a zone of circulating hot water that, when tapped, moves up to a zone of reduced pressure, yielding a mixture of steam and water at the surface. The water must be removed from the steam before the steam can be used to drive the turbine.

Question 45

Alternative energy

Answer 45

Refers to energy sources that are alternative to the commonly used fossil fuels.

Question 46

Nonrenewable alternative energy sources

Answer 46

include nuclear energy and geothermal energy, which were discussed previously.

Question 47

Solar energy

Answer 47

Energy that is collected from the Sun.

Question 48

Passive solar energy systems

Answer 48

involve architectural design that enhances absorption of solar energy and takes advantage of the natural changes in solar energy that occur throughout the year without requiring mechanical power

Question 49

Active solar energy systems

Answer 49

require mechanical power, usually pumps and other apparatuses, to circulate air, water, or other fluids from solar collectors to a heat sink, where the heat is stored until used.

Question 50

Solar collectors

Answer 50

Solar collectors are usually flat panels, consisting of a glass plate over a black background where water is circulated through tubes

Question 51

photovoltaics

Answer 51

The technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity, using a solid semiconductor material, is known as photovoltaics.

Question 52

Fuel cell

Answer 52

A device that produces electricity directly from a chemical reaction; commonly uses hydrogen as a fuel to which an oxidant is supplied.

Question 53

Water power

Answer 53

Use of flowing water such as in a reservoir to produce electrical power.

Question 54

Tidal power

Answer 54

With respect to energy resources, refers to the useful conversion of tidal currents to produce electrical power.

Question 55

Wind power

Answer 55

Technology (mostly windmills) used to extract electrical energy from the wind.

Question 56

Biofuel

Answer 56

A number of fuels, including ethanol (alcohol), derived from plants.

Question 57

girdling

Answer 57

Girdling involved cutting through the bark all the way around the base of a tree. After girdling had killed the tree, the settlers would then burn the forests to clear the land for farming

Question 58

best-known and most widely used biofuel

Answer 58

Firewood

Question 59

Efficiency

Answer 59

entails designing and using equipment that yields more power from a given amount of energy, while wasting less energy

Question 60

cogeneration

Answer 60

refers to a number of processes that capture and use some of the waste heat produced by power generation and industrial operations, rather than simply releasing it into the atmosphere or into water, where it may cause thermal pollution.

Question 61

sustainable energy policy

Answer 61

finding useful sources of energy that can be maintained and that do not pollute the atmosphere, cause climatic perturbations, such as global warming, or present unacceptable risk.