Energy

Biosphere

• communities of living things on Earth

• the sphere of life

Atmosphere

the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth

Hydrosphere

the earth’s supply of water

Cryosphere

ice cover

Geosphere/Lithosphere

soil and rock of the earth’s surface

Ecosphere

biosphere + atmosphere / hydrosphere / lithosphere

Principle of Emergent Properties

• where interactions between individual components of a system give rise to new characteristics that aren’t inherent in the parts themselves

Energy

• essential to all life forms

• capacity to do work or to move matter

• work - transfer of energy

• one of the most important characteristics of humans that set them apart from most animals is their ability to utilize an external energy source to do useful work

• to do work, man needs energy

Kinetic Energy

type of energy which is an energy in motion

Potential Energy

type of energy which is stored and waiting to be released

Thermal Energy

energy associated with heat

Geothermal Energy

energy from the interior of the earth

Electrical Energy

• flow of electric charge

• most commonly used form of energy

• can be generated from almost any energy source

Chemical Energy

stored in the bonds of atoms and molecules

Light Energy

electromagnetic radiation that we can see

Sound Energy

produced by vibrations that travel through matter

Nuclear Energy

released during nuclear reactions, primarily through processes like nuclear fission or nuclear fusion

Nuclear Fission

part of nuclear energy wherein it is a reaction where the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei, while releasing energy

Nuclear Fusion

part of nuclear energy where two light atomic nuclei (like hydrogen isotopes) combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy

Renewable Energy

type of energy source where the sources are naturally replenished and are virtually inexhaustible on a human time scale

Non-Renewable Energy

type of energy source where the sources are finite and cannot be easily replenished

Fossil Fuels

• a type of non-renewable energy sourcce

• coal, oil, natural gas

• formed through complex geologic and chemical processes millions of years ago

• biomass of organisms that did not decompose completely and under extreme temperature and pressure conditions → chemical energy is locked and preserved

• chemical energy → thermal energy

Hydropower

• energy produced from flowing water

• pros

  • no pollution

  • electricity is cheaper

    • spent water can still be utilized

• cons

  • destruction of terrestrialand aquatic ecosystems

  • alteration of natural flow

Solar Power

energy from the sun

Wind Energy

• energy from the wind currents are used to run wind turbines

• conditions

  1. winds must be fairly steady

  2. average wind speed all year round must not be lower than 15-20 km/hr

  3. area must not be visited too often by typhoons

Geothermal Energy

thermal energy from the interior of the earth