Types of Energy Flashcards
What are the different types of energy?
Primary or secondary.
What is primary energy?
Raw materials, released from a direct source e.g. heat energy is released from burning coal. Primary energy resources can either be renewable or non-renewable.
What is secondary energy?
When primary energy is converted into a different from it becomes secondary energy e.g. when heat energy from burring coal is used to generate electricity.
What is renewable energy?
This can also be known as flow or income resources. They have a natural rate of availability. They yield a continuous flow that can be consumed in any period of time without endangering future consumption, as long as current use doesn’t exceed net renewal during the same period.
Name examples of renewable energy.
Solar power, Hydroelectric power, Geothermal energy, wave power, tidal powers, wind power and biomass.
What two categories can renewable energy resources be divided into?
Critical and non critical.
What is meant by critical.
Sustainable energy resources from forests, plants and animal waste which require prudent management.
What is meant by non critical.
Everlasting resources such as tides, waves, running water and solar power.
What is a reserve?
The proportion of a resource that can be exploited under existing economic conditions and with available technology. Reserves can be classified as recoverable or speculative.
What are recoverable reserves?
The amounts of a mineral likely to be extracted for commercial use within a certain time period and at a certain level of technology. They are known to exist, can be estimated on the basis of information and judgement and are in unexplored areas near established areas of production.
What are speculative reserves?
These are deposits that may exist in a geological basin or terrain where no exploration has yet taken place. They occur where the geological makeup of the earths crust is similar to regions that have yielded comparable deposits.
