Energy and the Environment Concepts

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to WJEC (Eduqas) Physics A-level, Component 3 - Option D: Energy and the Environment.

Archimedes’ Principle

When a body is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, it experiences an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid it has displaced.

Breeding

The idea that fissile isotopes are generated by each fission event in a nuclear reactor.

Carbon Dioxide Levels

The amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.

Density

Mass per unit volume, with units kgm-3.

Efficiency

The useful output (e.g. power, energy) of a system divided by the total output.

Enrichment

The process of increasing the level of a particular isotope in an element.

Fuel Cells

A device that uses chemical energy from fuel in order to provide electrical energy directly.

Fusion Triple Product

The density, confinement time and plasma temperature.

Hydroelectric Power

Converting the energy of the motion of water into electrical energy.

Insulation

A barrier that minimises the transfer of heat energy.

Intensity

Power per unit area.

Inverse Square Law

When a quantity is proportional to the inverse of the square of the distance from the source of said quantity.

Non-Renewable Energy

Energy from sources that will run out or not be replenished naturally at a rate that is equal to consumption.

Nuclear Fission

When an unstable nucleus with a large mass number splits into 2 smaller nuclei.

Nuclear Fusion

When two small nuclei fuse together to create a larger nucleus.

Photovoltaic Cells

When the p-n junction diode is forward biased.

Proton-Proton Chain

The process in which stars turn hydrogen into helium.

Pumped Storage

When water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir to store energy as gravitational potential energy.

Rate of Energy Transfer

The rate at which energy is transferred, known as power.

Renewable Energy

Energy where the source is able to be replenished in a lifetime.

Rising Sea Levels

The increase in sea levels due to melting ice caps and the melting of ice on land.

Solar Power

The conversion of energy from sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic cells.

Stefan-Boltzman Law

The luminosity of a black body radiator is directly proportional to its surface area and its absolute temperature to the fourth power.

Sun’s Power Spectrum

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum in which the Sun emits energy.

Thermal Conduction

The transfer of heat energy through solid materials.

Thermal Equilibrium

When two objects exchange no heat energy; in the context of the environment, it is the balance between energy inflow from the Sun and energy re-radiated from the Earth.

Tidal Barrages

A dam-like structure that generates electricity by taking advantage of the change in tide levels.

Wien’s Law

The peak wavelength of emitted radiation is inversely proportional to the absolute temperature of the black body.

Wind Power

Using wind power to turn generators to produce electrical power.