DECK 3 Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is energy history?
History seen as a process by which humans increase their mastery of energy, to build a better society
Stages in the history of energy
- Prehistory
- Mastery of fire
- Domestication of beasts of burden
- Early mechanical prime movers
- Invention of engines
- Age of electricity
What are the three great revolutions
- Promethean Revolution
- Agricultural Revolution
- Industrial Revolution
Talk about the progression of permanent shelters in the past
Bricks were mainly used for around 3500BC
Gradual shift to agriculture and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle
Higher firing temperatures
Talk about the history of the wheel
First appeared in Mesopotamia more than 5000 BCE
In the area of North Caucasus and Central Europe
Improved the efficiency of land transportation while the main force to overcome was friction
Earliest wheels were disks, later replaced by spoked wheels which were lighter and required less material
Talk about the history of wind energy
Egypt - Square sails around 3000 BCE
China - Sailing to windward during Han Dynasty
Mediterranean - Fore and Air rigging 200 BCE
Indian Ocean or Mediterranean - Triangular sails
Iran - Windmills 600 CE
What are some Chinese Inventions?
- Rice cultivation
- Triangular Ploughs
- Rowing oars
- Stern mounted rudder
- Early use of coal, oil, and natural gas
- Percussion drilling
- Gunpowder
- Coke as fuel
- Compass
Major Early Islamic Periods
- Rashidun (570-660)
- Umayyad major period of very rapid expansion
- Abbasid (Isalmic golden age)
What was the whole topic of the silk road?
Ocean routes were made to avoid it
Search for a shorter westward route to India led to Europe discovery of Americans
Why avoid the silk road?
Rise of the Ottoman Empire and conflict with the European Powers
Travel and trade in the silk road became risky and costly for European traders
Why did Coal Technology Emerge in Britian?
- Scarcity of timber
- Secure and abundant supply of coal
- Development of coking technology that eventually was transferred to iron making
Who was the dominant producer of coal in the 18th and 19th centruy?
UK
Talk about the rise of coal
- Good supply in England
- Eventually need to dig deeper to extract it
- Problem is that water seeps in and pump process is inefficient (muscle power) and it leads to invention of external combustion engine
What is an internal combustion engine?
- Uses liquid fuel (high density energy)
- More compact
- More efficient
- Nothing to dispose (exhaust goes into the air)
