Energy resources and electricity generation Flashcards
(20 cards)
What energy transfers are involved with heating fossil fuels?
energy in chemical energy store is transferred to thermal energy store of water by heating, water boils to form steam which turns turbine transferring energy mechanically to the kinetic energy store of turbine. the generator also turns transferring energy electrically away
chemical - thermal - kinetic - kinetic - electrical
What are the advantages of fossil fuels?
release lots of energy, cheaply
doesn’t rely on weather - reliable
lots already so no new money is needed for new tech
What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels?
release co2 into atmosphere when burned,c contributes to global warming and climate change
burning coal and oil releases sulfur dioxide = acid rain, causes harm to wildlife, trees and soils
they will run out
What energy transfers are involved with nuclear power?
nuclear fusion, uranium produces heat to make steam drive turbines rather than burning, nuclear - thermal - mechanically - kinetic - electrical
What are the advantages/disadvantages of fossil fuels?
no greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming, lots of uranium left
What energy transfers are involved with wind?
energy from kinetic energy store of moving air to generate electricity, turns blades and then generator
What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels?
nuclear reactors expensive, take time and processing uranium before use causes pollution and leaks of radioactive material plus radioactive wast, when old and inefficient, plants will have to be made safe and decommissioned
What are the disadvantages of wind?
they spoil the view as wind turbines must be put up (need 1500 to replace 1 coal station), cover a lot of ground and very noisy, expensive and sometimes wind isn’t strong enough
What are the advantages of wind?
cheap - tough and reliable, wind is free, no polluting waste and is renewable
What energy transfers/processes are involved with geothermal power?
only possible in ares of hot rocks near to surface, source of energy is slow decay of various radioactive elements - water is piped to hot rocks and forced back due to pressure to turn turbine and generator
thermal - kinetic
What are the advantages of geothermal power?
heat buildings, free, renewable and no environmental problems
What are the disadvantages of geothermal power?
cost of drilling, cost of building power plant is high compared to amount of energy out, few places
What energy transfers/processes are involved with solar cells?
energy for sun to generate electricity and d.c,
sunlight - solar cell - electric current - component
What are the disadvantages of solar cells?
expensive initially and expensive to connect to national, grid and can only generate enough electricity based on how much sun (problem in winter/night), generate electricity on a small scale
What are the advantages of solar cells?
renewable, free, no pollution, can be linked to rechargeable batteries to store energy, used in remote places where theres no choice
What energy transfers/processes are involved with solar heating systems?
solar water heating panels - black water pipes inside glass box and lets energy from sun in, which is then absorbed by the balk peeps and heats water
cooking with solar power - curved mirror and focus suns light (happens in solar oven)
What are the advantages/disadvantages of solar heating systems?
solar water heating panels - cost money, only used for small scale but renewable and free
cooking with solar power - slow, bulky, unreliable and need strong sunlight to work but renewable
What energy transfers/processes are involved with wave? What are its disadvantages/advantages?
wave converters - up and down motion from waves drives generator, kinetic energy from waves - kinetic energy from generator
no pollution, renewable, now fuel and minimal running costs but it spoils views, hazard to boats, unreliable, initial costs high, only small scale
What energy transfers/processes are involved with tidal barrage? What are its disadvantages/advantages?
big dams on river estuaries w turbines, the tide fills up on several metres and water is allowed through turbines . kinetic energy of water - kinetic energy of turbine
no pollution, renewable, no fuel costs and minimal running costs but prevents access of boars, spills views and alters habitat, height of tides unreliable, initial costs high
What energy transfers/processes are involved with hydroelectricity? What are its disadvantages/advantages?
flooding of a valley by building a big dam, rainwater is caught and allowed through turbine, gravitational potential energy of water - kinetic energy as it falls
renewable, no pollution and immediate response if more is needed, no fuel and running costs but impact on environment flooding and habitat, unsightly reservoirs , initial costs are high
