Env Science #3 Conventional Energy

What is the definition of work in physics?

The application of force through a distance; requires energy input.

What unit is used to measure energy?

Joules.

What does one Joule represent?

The energy expended in 1 second by a current of 1 amp flowing through a resistance of 1 ohm.

How is energy defined?

The capacity to do work, or to change the physical state or motion of an object.

What is power?

The rate of energy delivery, measured in horsepower or watts.

What is a watt?

The force exerted by 1 joule, or a current of 1 amp per second flowing through a resistance of 1 ohm.

What are fossil fuels?

Petroleum, natural gas, and coal created by geological forces from organic wastes and dead biological organisms.

What does Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) refer to?

Carbon dioxide generally from fuel combustion stored in geological formations.

What is Peak Oil?

A prediction that oil production in the United States would peak in the 1970s and then decline.

What are Tar Sands?

Sand deposits containing petroleum or tar.

What is Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)?

A mixture of water, sand, and toxic chemicals pumped into rock formations at high pressure to fracture sediments and release oil or gas.

What is Kerogen?

A solid, energy-rich organic material similar to bitumen.

What is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)?

Natural gas cooled to approximately 162°C (-260°F), becoming a colorless odorless liquid that takes up about 1/600th the volume of its gaseous state.

What are Methane Hydrates?

Small bubbles or individual molecules of methane trapped in a crystalline matrix of frozen water.

What is a Fuel Assembly in a nuclear reactor?

A bundle of hollow metal rods containing uranium oxide pellets used to fuel a nuclear reactor.

What is Nuclear Fission?

The radioactive decay process in which isotopes split apart to create two smaller atoms.

What is a Chain Reaction in nuclear physics?

A self-sustaining reaction where the fission of nuclei produces subatomic particles that cause the fission of other nuclei.

What are Control Rods in a nuclear reactor?

Neutron-absorbing material inserted between fuel assemblies in nuclear reactors to regulate fission reactions.

What are Breeder Reactors?

Nuclear reactors that produce fuel by bombarding isotopes of uranium and thorium with high-energy neutrons.

What is Nuclear Fusion?

A process in which two smaller atomic nuclei fuse into one larger nucleus and release energy, the source of power in a hydrogen bomb.