Energy Rescourses Flashcards
Natural Resource
materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.
Renewable Resource
is a substance of economic value that can be replaced or replenished in the same or less amount of time as it takes to draw the supply down.
Nonrenewable Resource
is a resource that does not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in meaningful human time-frames
Fossil Fuel
a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms
Nuclear Fission
a nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with another particle, with the release of energy.
Nuclear Fusion
a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle
s a vehicle that uses hydrogen as its on board fuel for motive power.
Solar Energy
is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants and artificial photosynthesis.
Wind Energy
refers to the process of creating electricity using the wind, or air flows that occur naturally in the earth’s atmosphere. Modern wind turbines are used to capture kinetic energy from the wind and generate electricity.
Hydroelectric energy
is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015, hydropower generated 16.6% of the world’s total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity, and was expected to increase about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years
Biomass
the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume
Gasohol
a mixture of gasoline and ethyl alcohol used as fuel in internal combustion engines.
Geothermal Energy
is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter.
Petroleum
a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is present in certain rock strata and can be extracted and refined to produce fuels including gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil; oil.
Natural Gas
is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium.
Coal
is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements; chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Propane
is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula C₃H₈. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquidv
Tidal Energy
is a form of hydropower that converts the energy obtained from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity. Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has potential for future electricity generation.
Wave Energy
is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter
Smog
fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants.
Acid Precipitation
is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions
Recycling
is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects.