APES- Unit 6 energy and resource consumption vocabulary

Fossil fuels

Fuel derived form carbon based organisms that became fossilized millions of years ago

Nonrenewable energy resources

Energy course with a finite supply (fossil fuels and nuclear fuels)

Renewable energy resources

Sources of energy that are infinite

Potentially renewable

Resources that can be replenished as long as we do not use them faster then they can be replenished

Non -depletable

Can not be used completely/ will never deplete

Commercial energy resource

Energy sources that are bought and sold (coal, oil, natural gas)

Subsistence energy sources

Energy sources that are gathered by individuals for their own needs (straw, stickers, animal dung)

Energy intensity

Energy used per unit of GDP

Fossil fuel combustion

Reaction between fossil fuel and oxygen

Hubert curve

Represents oil use and projects both when that oil use and compleat depletion will be reached

Peak oil

The point when oil extraction and use would increase steadily until about half the supply was used

Energy conservation

Finding and implementing ways to use less energy

Energy efficiency

Ratio of the amount of of energy expanded in the form you want to the total amount of energy that is introduced into the system

Energy return in energy investment

Amount of energy we get out of an energy source for every unit of energy expended on its production

Biofuels

Liquid fuel created from processed/ refined biomass (ethanol and biodiesel)

Modern carbon

Carbon that was recently in the atmosphere

Fossil carbon

Carbon that has been stored for a long time

Carbon neutral

An activity that does not change the atmospheric CO2 concentrations

Energy carrier

Energy that can be moved and delivered in a convenient and usable form to users

Combined cycle

Uses both steam turbine to generat electricity and separate turbine that is powered by the exhaust gas of natural ga combustion

Capacity

Max electrical output

Capacity factor

The fraction of time a power plant operates during a year

Cogeneration (combined heat and power)

Allows for the use of extra heat to be used and one process is better than two

Electrical grid

Network of interconnected transmission line

Energy quality

Ease that an energy source can be used

Nuclear power

Electricity form nuclear energy contained in nuclear fuel

Radioactivity

Emission of ionizing radiation or particles caused by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei

Fission

Nuclear reaction where a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus which he spilts into 2+ peace’s additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat

Fuel rods

Containment structure for nuclear fuel in a nuclear reactor

Control rods

Cylindrical devices that can be inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons, slowing or stoping the fission reaction

Radioactive decay

When nuclear fuel is no longer useful but still emits radioactivity

Becquerel

Measures the rate at which a sample of radioactive material decays

Curie

Measure for radiation

Wood

Driver from woody material like trees

Charcoal

Wood that has been burned without oxygen so water and some volatile compounds are driven off

Particulates

Solid or liquid particles suspended in air (soot)

Carbon monoxide (CO)

gas that is formed during incomplete combustion of most materials (colorless and odorless)

Nitrogen oxides

By product of all combustion in the atmosphere (78% nitrogen)

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

By product of all combustion; from biofuels contain modern carbon from woody material, rather than fossil carbon from fossil fuels

Volatile organic compounds (voc)

Organic compounds the evaporate easily

Manure

Dried animal byproduct that is used fro heating or cooking in developing countries

Biofuels

Liquid fuel created from processed/refrined biomass

Ethanol

Alcohol made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2

Biodiesel

Diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants

Passive solar heating

Use of energy from the sun that takes advantage of solar radiation without the use of technology

Active solar heating

Technologies capture and store the energy of sunlight with the use of electric equipment and technologies

Solar water heating systems

Allows heat energy from the sun to be transferred directly to water of another liquid, which is then circulated to a hot water heating system

Photovoltaic solar cells

Capture energy from the sun (as light not heat) and convert it directly into electricity

Concentrating Solar Thermal Electricity Generation

Large scale application of solar energy to electricity generation

Hydroelectricity

Electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water

Water impoundment system

Storing water in a reservoir behind a dam

Run-of-the-river system

Water is retained behind a low, small dam or no dam at all, then passes through a channel that have a submerged turbine

Tidal energy system

Energy that comes from the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the moon

Siltation

Sediments from moving water that accumulates on the bottom of a reservoir.

Fuel cell

Electrical-chemical device that converts fuel (like hydrogen)into an electrical current

Electrolysis

An electric current is applied to water to split it into hydrogen and oxygen

Wind energy

Generated from the kinetic energy of moving air

Wind turbine

Converts the kinetic energy of moving air into electricity in a similar way that a hydroelectric turbine harnesses the kinetic energy of moving water

Phantom loads

Electrical demand by a device that draw electrical current even when turned off

Peak demand

Greatest quantity of energy used at any one time

Passive solar design

Construction technique designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology

Thermal mass

A property of building material that allows it to maintain heat or cold

Smart grid

Efficient self-regulating electricity distribution network that accepts any source of electricity and distributes it

Geothermal energy

Heat energy that comes from the natural radioactive decay of element deep within earth

Hot water heat pumps

Extracts heat from the air in a garage or basement and transfers it to water tanks