Our Energy Options Flashcards
US uses how much total renewable energy?
8% (but 18% in the world)
US uses how much total nuclear power?
8% (but 6% in the world)
What is the 1st law of thermodynamics?
energy cannot be created nor destroyed
What is the 2nd law of thermodynamics?
as energy changes, it becomes less and less useful and more disordered (entropy)
What is the energy difference between the incandescent light bulb vs compact fluorescent vs LED?
- LED is the most efficient - long lasting with very little energy used
- compact fluorescent
- incandescent light bulb (most energy wasting)
_____plants are 2 an energy-wasting devices, because the material is very efficient, but the cost of building and what you do with the waste product is very INEFFICIENT.
- nuclear power plants: the cooling tower is where the excess steam gets out; nuclear plants are built near body of water.
- coal burning power plants
_____ is an energy-wasting devices, because the heat that is given out is not used and wasted.
internal combustion engines
The history of changes in energy consumption?
- biomass/wood (1850s)
- coal
- oil
- natural gas
- nuclear (highest percent of energy - 1990-2005)
what is the main focus for the price of oil?
- wish to down to about 20$ a barrel
- adding new tax on gasoline
- price is low, roads and bridges need to be fixed up
____ is not gasoline, but 50-90% methane (CH4) by volume.
natural gas
____ natural gas is from sandstone (not trapped further down from coal beds)
conventional
____ natural gas is from coal beds and oil sands.
uncoventional
_____ gas is a product of crude oil, and is found mixed with oil.
examples: butane, propane, pentane
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG) is gas liquefied by?
compression
The world supply of conventional natural gas (from sandstone) will last for another ____ years.
62-125
____ is used in electricity and steel production. It releases sulfur, mercury, and other radioactive pollutants. It is abundant in the US, with reserves lasting for 300 years.
coal
what are the stages of coal?
sulfur
- peat
- lignite
- sub-bituminous
- bituminous
- anthracite
____ is a lot more concentrated than coal.
Primary extraction is pumped out.
Secondary extraction is forced out with water.
Tertiary extraction is forced out with steam.
Petroleum
The ____ has the cheapest gasoline in the world (with lowest amount added on as tax.
There becomes a surplus money of tax, because we do not have money to fix repairs. (60% of bridges are in need of repair) Behavior is complemented by how we live our lives, how we pay for gas
US
Germany, Italy, France, UK top highest
The 2 primary factors determining energy use are?
- political stability in oil-producing countries
2. price of oil
During the ___, energy costs in North America and Europe declined. They used more energy to heat and cool their homes, bought more appliances, and larger cars.
1980s
In December 1953 in the Atoms for Peace speech, ____ said “nuclear reactors will produce electricity so cheaply that it will not be necessary to meter it”.
But today’s reality, accidents have caused worldwide concern about safety of nuclear power plants.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
In 1942, the first controlled nuclear chain reaction occurred at ____, which led to the development of the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Following WWII, people then began exploring potential uses of nuclear energy.
Stag Field in Chicago
The US built the world’s first nuclear power plant in ___.
1951
What is the main material used in nuclear energy?
uranium (U-235)
is fissionable
A ___ is a a device that permits a controlled fission chain reaction that continues to release energy until the fuel is spent or the neutrons are prevented from striking other nuclei.
- U-235 nucleus struck by neutron from another atom
- the nucleus splits into smaller particles
- more neutrons released, striking more atoms
nuclear reactor
nuclear fission reactors contain ____ made of non-fissionable material (boron or graphite) which are lowered into the reactor to absorb neutrons and controle the rate of fission.
- when withdrawn, the rate of fission increases
control rods
A ____ is a substance that absorbs energy, which slows neutrons and enables them to split the nuclei of other atoms more effectively.
moderator
An example of a nuclear reactor is the _____, where the purpose is to produce heat. Steam from the water runs through to turn the turbine, turbine is connected to generator to produce electricity; needs some thing that moves. The water runs and cools the excess heat or it will explode.
the boiling water reactor
What are some nuclear concerns?
- accidents raise safety questions
- terrorists use
- worker and public exposure to radiation
- weapon production
- contamination and disposal problems
nuclear power provides over ____ of the world’s electricity.
16%
____ is the site of the world’s largest nuclear accident, which occurred April 26, 1986.
Experiments were being conducted on the reactor, but operators had violated 6 safety rules. They shut off automatic warning and shutdown systems, and emergency core cooling system.
Chernobyl (in Ukraine)
____ was a nuclear plant disaster that occurred March 11, 2011. It was caused by an earthquake below seabed. It was compounded by a tsunami and caused power failure.
Fukushima Nuclear Plant (in Japan)
There are over ____ sites contaminated sites with hundreds of underground storage tanks, millions of 55 gallon drums of waste, and thousands of sites with contaminated soil.
3000
Plan by President Bush was to move all nuclear material/waste to ____. Obama said this was not going to continue, because nuclear waste must be transported by train near towns. Did not want train accidents, leakage, exposure to terrorists.
Yucca Mountain
Life expectancy of electrical generating plants (fossil fuel or nuclear) is ____ years.
30-40
Unlike other plants, nuclear plants are _____, which is a 2 step process.
- includes removing and properly disposing of or storing fuel rods and water used in the reactor
- final disposition of the facility
decommissioned, not demolished
The potential for climate change has major implications for nuclear power. Because these plants do not produce ____, many people have re-evaluated its value as a continuing part of the energy equation.
carbon dioxide
