Unit 6: Energy Resources and Consumption (Chapter 12 )

Fossil fuel

A fuel derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago

Nonrenewable energy resource

An energy source with a finite supply, primarily the fossil fuels and nuclear fuels

Nuclear fuel

Fuel derived from radioactive materials that give off energy

Commercial energy source

An energy source that is brought and sold

Subsistence energy source

An energy source gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs

Energy carrier

Something that can move and deliver energy in a convenient, usable form to end users

Turbine

A device that can be turned by water, steam, or wind to produce power

Electrical grid

A network of interconnected transmission lines that joins power plants together and links them with end users of electricity

Combine cycle

A power plant that uses both exhaust gases and steam turbines to generate electricity

Capacity

In reference to an electricity-generating plant, the maximum electrical output

Capacity factor

The fraction of time a power plant operates in a year

Cogeneration (combined heat and power)

The use of a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat

Coal

A solid fuel formed primary from the remains of trees, ferns, and other plant materials preserved 280 million to 360 million years ago

Petroleum

A widely-used fossil fuel that occurs in underground deposits, composed of a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur

Crude oil

Liquid petroleum removed from the ground

Oil sands

Slow-flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay

Bitumen

A degraded petroleum that forms when petroleum migrates to the surface of Earth and is modified by bacteria

CTL (coal to liquid)

The technology to convert solid coal into liquid fuel

Energy intensity

The energy use per unit of gross domestic product

Hubbert curve

A bell-shaped curve representing oil use and projecting both when world oil production will reach a maximum and when the world will run out of oil

Peak oil

The point at which half the total known oil supply is used up

Fission

A nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more paths, releasing additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat

Fuel rod

A cylindrical tube that encloses nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor

Control rod

A cylindrical device inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction

Radioactive waste

Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be useful in a power plant but continues to emit radiocactivity

Becquerel (Bq)

Unit that measures the rate at which a sample of radioactive material decays; 1 Bq = decay of 1 atom or nucleus per second

Curie

A unit of measure for radiation; 1 curie = 37 billion decays per second

Nuclear fusion

A reaction that occurs when lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei