P1 Electricty And Waves And The Universe Flashcards
What do non-renewable fuels have in common?
They will all run out. The damage the environment and they provide most of our energy.
Name four non-renewable fuels.
Coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear fuels like uranium and plutonium.
Name eight renewable energy resources.
Wind, waves, tides, hydroelectric, solar, geothermal, food, biofuels.
What do renewable energy sources have in common?
The will never run out. They slightly damage the environment in certain ways.
They don’t produce as much energy and the ones that depend on the weather aren’t reliable.
How do power stations produce power?
A fuel is burnt or a nuclear reaction takes place and this produces heat.
This heat is used to heat and boil water. ( sometimes air is heated)
The steam then turns a turbine producing kinetic energy.
The turbine is connected to a generator which turns the kinetic energy into electric energy.
The water is then passed through cooling towers, it is condensed and reused.
Gas stations take the shortest time to start up and nuclear ones the longest.
Explain everything there is to know about wind turbines.
Many windmills are put in windy places.
The only pollution is the little bit when they’re made.
They spoil the view. 1500 are needed to replace one coal powered station which would affect a large area.
They are very noisy.
No power is generated when the wind stops and supply can’t be increased with extra demand.
Initial costs are high but there are no fuel costs and minimal running costs.
No permanent damage. They can be taken down.
Explain everything there is to know about solar panels.
They are used in remote places like the Australian out back.
No pollution, but lots of energy is used when made.
In sunny places, they are very reliable IN THE DAY TIME.
Initial costs are high but the energy is free and running costs are practically non-existent.
They can only generate relatively small amounts of electricity as it would cost too much to connect to the national grid.
Explain everything there is to know about hydroelectric power.
It usually requires the flooding of a valley and the building of a damn.
Rainwater is collected and put through turbines.
The environmental impacts can include rotting vegetation releasing methane and CO2 and the destruction of habitats. They look very ugly when they dry up but the effects can be reduced if they are in remote valleys.
They provide an immediate response to an increase in demand for electricity.
They an be less reliably in times of brought.
Initial costs are high but there’s no fuel and minimal running costs.
It can generate on a small scale in remote areas.
Explain everything there is to know about pumped storage.
Most power stations have huge boilers that run all night meaning electricity is produced when it isn’t needed.
Night time electricity pumps water into a reservoir.
This can be released at a later when demand peaks.
Explain everything there is to know about wave power.
Small wave powered turbines are put along the coast.
When a wave goes in, it compresses air into a turbine making it move.
There is no pollution but it spoils the view and is a danger to boats. It is also fairly un-reliable as waves die when wind drops.
High initial costs but no fuel and minimal running costs.
Not cost efficient to provide energy on a large scale but it is useful on small islands.
Explain everything there is to know about tidal barrages.
They are dams with turbines in the, built along river estuaries. As the tide comes in it makes the estuary several meters higher and drive the turbines. The water can also be let through the turbines again to produce more.
The sun and moon provide the gravity to power it.
It doesn’t pollute but prevents access by boats, spoils the view and alters the habitat of wildlife like wading birds and sea creatures that live in the area.
They are reliable as they always rise to the predicted hight at the right time. However the height of the tide changes meaning less energy will be generated. Also no energy is generated when the water level is the same on both sides. This happens four times a day.
It is good at storing energy.
High initial costs but low fuel costs and minimal running costs.
It can only be used in some of the most suitable estuaries but can generate a lot of power.
Explain everything there is to know about geothermal energy.
This is only possible in volcanic areas where hot rock is near the surface. This heat comes from the nuclear decay of materials like uranium.
The heat, turns water to steam which goes through turbines.
It can be used to heat buildings directly.
The main drawbacks are there are few suitable locations and the cost is high compared with the energy generated.
Explain everything there is to know about biofuels.
They are renewable energy resources that are used in the same way as fossil fuels.
They can also be used in cars.
They can be solid (nut shells and woodchips) gases(methane)and liquid (ethanol).
They can come from living organisms or the recently departed. They don’t have to be millions of years old.
Crops like sugar cane and be fermented to provide ethanol and plant oils can produce biodiesel.
How do non-renewable energy sources affect the enviroment?
They produce CO2 causing the green house affect.(coal the most, gas the least).
Coal and oil produce sulphur dioxide causing acid rain.
Acid rain can be reduced by by removing sulphur before the fuel is used or by cleaning up emissions.
Coal mining makes a mess of the landscape.(especially open cats mining).
Oil spillages affect mammals and birds living in the area.
Nuclear waste is dangerous and difficult to dispose of.
The overall cost of nuclear power is high as is costs to decommission them and build them despite the fact the fuel is relatively cheap.
Nuclear fuel also carries the risk of nuclear catastrophe like Chernobyl in 1986.
What are disadvantages of biofuels?
They are quick to produce and normally carbon neutral.
In some areas large areas of forest have been cleared away to grow biofuels resulting in many animals losing their habitat. The Decay and burning of biofuels also results in more co2 and methane being produced.
Explain everything there is to know about carbon capture.
Canon capture and storage, reduces the amount of CO2 in the air and the affects of the greenhouse effect.
It works by collecting co2 before it is released and pumping it back into empty gas and oil fields in the North Sea.
It is a new field with lots of research being done with it. It could be dissolved in seawater at bottom of sea or captured by algae which can then produce biofuel.
What has to be considered when making a new power station?
The setting up and running costs, how long it takes to build, the power it can produce, damage to the environment, affects on communities, the cost of decommissioning, reliability.
Explain the set up and decommissioning time when comparing energy sources.
This is affected by the size and complexity of the of the engineering and planning issues.(should a power plant be built on a beautiful stretch of country side).
Gas is one of the quickest to set up while nuclear power takes the longest to set up and decommission.
Explain the fuel costs when comparing energy sources.
Renewable energy sources have the lowest running costs as the fuel doesn’t cost anything.
Explain the issues with location when comparing energy sources.
A power station has to have access to what it runs on.
SOLAR Pretty much any where.(but you want a sunny place)
GAS. Anywhere there’s piped gas.(most of the UK)
HYDROELECTRIC. Hilly ,rainy places with floodable valleys like the Lake District or Scottish highlands.
WIND. Exposed windy places like the coast or out to sea.
Oil. Near the coast.(oil is transported by sea)
WAVES the coast.
COAL. Where there’s coal. Yorkshire, Wales.
NUCLEAR. Away from people (in case of fire) and near water (for cooling)
TIDAL. Large river estuaries where a damn can be built.
GEOTHERMAL. Limited as few places have the hot rocks near the surface.
Explain the set up costs. when comparing energy sources.
Renewable energy resources produce less power so their stations have to be larger. This means they are more expensive.
Nuclear reactors and dams also need huge amounts of engineering to make them safe.
Explain the reliability issues when comparing energy sources.
Non-renewable energy sources are reliable until they run out.
The renewable ones depend on the weather, meaning they aren’t reliable in the UK, apart from geothermal and tidal power.
Explain the environmental issues when comparing energy sources.
If fuel is used, resources are used up and pollution is created.
Others spoil the view.
Also consider disruption of leisure activities, noise pollution, disruption of habitats
What is the national grid?
It allows power to be generated anywhere and sent to any home of industry.
They could use a high current or high voltage. However a high current would mean energy would be wasted as heat as there would be more collisions between particles. This means high voltage is used. 230V in fact.
Explain how the national grid, transmits it’s power.
Step up transformers step up the voltage, transfer it and then step it down before it goes into homes.
Explain the pros and cons of overhead cables.
SETUP COST. Lower. MAINTENANCE lots needed. FAULTS. easy to access and fix. HOW IT LOOKS. Ugly. AFFECTED BY WEATHER yes. RELIABILITY. Less reliable. HOW EASY TO SET UP easy. DISTURBANCE TO LAND. Minimal.
