Renewable Energies

planned obsolescence

Deliberate business practice to increase sales by making products that are meant to fail, have reduced lifespans, break easily or are incompatible with new systems.

Social impacts of planned obsolescence

promote social divides and economic inequality (rich get to access it easily while poor have to settle or find an alternative), creates a connotation about staying in fashion

Economic impacts of planned obsolescence

a constant financial burden to families because replacements are needed often, specific targets are pressured with right to repair and destructive on hardware software

Environmental impacts of planned obsolescence

generates lots of waste—> takes up space—> leads to scavengers exposed to toxic fumes—> materials become microplastics

Sources of energy

geothermal, tide, wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, biomass

Geothermal

Energy collected from the heat of the Earth (core) often in regions with lots of tectonic activites.

Pros: constant and predictable, renewable
Cons: limited areas to collect,

Tide

Energy collected from the rise and falling of tides often in a tide stream with a turbine.
Pros: predictable, high power outlet
Cons: weather dependent, damage marine life

Biomass

Energy collected from the burning of bio-waste (living animals, wood…).
Pros: recycles waste, easily sourced
Cons: produce C02, expensive

Solar

Pros: easily available
Cons: reliant on weather, only collectable during certain times

wind

Pros: low land consumption, highly efficient
Cons: weather dependent, noise pollution, ruins landscapes

Nuclear

Pros: high energy production, not weather dependant
Cons: bio-hazard risk, radioactive waste, potentially non-sustainable (uranium)

AC

A current that oscillates between different directions periodically.

DC

Current flow is constant and steady in one direction.

Insulators

Are materials where electrons are in fixed positions because atoms are tightly bound and electron flow in not encouraged (because full valence shells don’t have valence electrons to spare to move around).
Heat: lattice structures forces KE and PE to slowly transfer through atomic vibrations apart from diamonds

Conductors

Are materials where a surplus of free electrons available for movement is present because of its structure holding loosely bound atoms with not-full valence shells. In metals, the lattice of positive ions is formed with a sea of electrons capable of freely drifting when voltage is applied— creating current.
Heat: free electrons absorb KE and move rapidly through a material transferring heat + collide with other particles (heating up)