Energy

Introduction

Energy is a theme that appears in all branches of science. There are different ways in
which energy can be stored and, when something happens, it is likely to be due to
energy being transferred from one store to another. Energy transfer is needed to
enable people, computers, machines and other devices to work and to enable processes
and changes to occur. Although energy can be transferred to different stores, the
total energy of a system remains constant.

Energy stores

 Energy can be stored in a number of different ways. Energy may be stored as

kinetic, gravitational potential, chemical, elastic (strain), nuclear, electrostatic
and internal (thermal)

Chemical energy

 Food and fuels, like oil, gas, coal and wood, are concentrated stores of chemical
energy.
 The energy of food is released by chemical reactions in our bodies, and during
the transfer to other stores we are able to do useful jobs.
 Fuels cause energy transfers when they are burnt in an engine or a boiler.
Batteries are compact sources of chemical energy, which in use is transferred
by an electric current.

Gravitational potential energy

 This is the energy an object has because of its position. A body above the
Earth’s surface, like water in a mountain reservoir, has energy stored as
gravitational potential energy.

Elastic strain energy

 This is energy an object has because of its condition. Work has to be done to
compress or stretch a spring or elastic material and energy is transferred to
elastic strain energy.
 If the bow string is released, the strain energy will be transferred to the
arrow.

Kinetic energy

 Any moving object has kinetic energy and the faster it moves, the more
kinetic energy it has.
 As a hammer drives a nail into a piece of wood, there is a transfer of
energy from the kinetic energy of the moving hammer to other energy
stores.
Electrostatic energy

 Energy can be stored by charged objects as electrostatic energy. This energy

can be transferred by an electric current.

Nuclear energy

 The energy stored in the nucleus of an atom is known as nuclear energy. It can
be transferred to other energy stores in nuclear reactions such as fission and
fusion.

Internal energy

 This is also called thermal energy and is the final fate of other energy stores.
It is transferred by conduction, convection or radiation

Energy transfers

Demonstration

The apparatus can be used to show how energy is transferred between different
energy stores

i. Chemical energy stored in the battery is transferred by an electric current

(electrical working) to kinetic energy in the electric motor.
ii. The weight is raised when kinetic energy stored in the motor is transferred (by
mechanical working) to gravitational potential energy stored in the weight.
iii. If the changeover switch is joined to the lamp and the weight allowed to fall,
the motor acts as a generator of an electric current that transfers (by
 electrical working) kinetic energy stored in the rotating coil of the generator to
internal energy in the lamp.
iv. Energy is transferred from the lamp to the environment (by electromagnetic
waves and by heating).

 In addition to electrical working, mechanical working, electromagnetic waves and

heating, energy can be transferred between stores by other types of waves,
such as sound waves.
 Sound waves transfer energy from a vibrating source to our eardrums or to a
microphone. Heating water in a boiler transfers chemical energy stored in a fuel
to internal energy stored in the water.

Other examples

 Potential energy is transferred to kinetic energy by mechanical working

(action of a gravitational force).
 Thermal energy stored in an electric fire element is transferred by
electromagnetic waves and by heating to the environment.
 Chemical energy (stored in muscles in the arm) is transferred to elastic
energy in the bow by mechanical working.
 Gravitational potential energy stored in the water in the upper reservoir is
transferred to the kinetic energy of a turbine by mechanical working

Measuring energy transfers

 In an energy transfer, work is done. The work done is a measure of the amount
of energy transferred.
 Energy, as well as work, is measured in joules (J). For example, if you have to
exert an upward force of 10N to raise a stone steadily through a vertical
distance of 1.5m, the mechanical work done is 15J.

work done=force × distance moved∈the direction of force

Principle of conservation of energy

 The principle of conservation of energy is stated as follows:

Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it is always conserved.

 However, energy is continually being transferred from one store to another.

Some stores, such as those of electrostatic and chemical energy, are easily
transferred; for others, such as internal energy, it is hard to arrange a useful
transfer.
 Ultimately all energy transfers result in the surroundings being heated (as a
result of doing work against friction) and the energy is wasted, i.e. spread out
and increasingly more difficult to use.
 For example, when a brick falls, its gravitational potential energy is transferred
by mechanical working (gravitational force) to kinetic energy; when the brick
hits the ground, kinetic energy is transferred to the surroundings by heating
and by sound waves.
 If it seems in a transfer that some energy has disappeared, the ‘lost’ energy is
often transferred into non-useful thermal energy. This appears to be the fate
of all energy in the Universe and is one reason why new sources of useful energy
have to be developed

Representing energy transfers

1. The flow diagram of energy transfers for a hydroelectric scheme.

2. In thermal power stations, thermal energy transferred from burning

fossil fuels heats the water in a boiler and turns it into steam. The
steam drives turbines which in turn drive the generators that produce
electricity.
 Sankey diagram for a thermal power station, where the
thickness of the bars represents the size of energy transfer
at each stage.
 Kinetic energy ( E k )

 Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because of its motion.

 For an object of mass m travelling with velocity v,
1 2
kinetic energy=E k = mv
2
If m is in kg and v in m/s, then kinetic energy is in J.

Potential energy (E p)

 Potential energy is the energy an object has because of its position or condition.
An object above the Earth’s surface is considered to have gained an amount of
gravitational potential energy equal to the work that has been done against
gravity by the force used to raise it.
 To lift an object of mass m through a vertical height ∆ hat a place where the
Earth’s gravitational field strength is g needs a force equal and opposite to the
weight mg of the body. Hence

Work done by force = force × vertical height

¿ mg ×∆ h
Therefore, the change in gravitational potential energy
¿ ∆ E p=mg ∆ h

When m is in kg, g in N/kg (or ms−2 ) and Δh in m, then ∆ E pis in J.

Swinging Pendulum
 In the case of a pendulum, kinetic and gravitational potential energy are
interchanged continually. The energy of the bob is all gravitational potential
energy at the end of the swing and all kinetic energy as it passes through
its central position.
 In other positions it has both gravitational potential and kinetic energy.
Eventually all the energy is transferred to thermal energy as a result of
overcoming air resistance.
 Work
 When you lift and move a heavy box upstairs you will have done work. In the
absence of heat being generated, the work done is a measure of the amount
of energy transferred.
 When moving the heavy box, chemical energy from your muscles is
transferred to gravitational potential energy.
 If an electric motor is used to move the box, an equal amount of electrical work
will be done.

In an energy transfer, work is done. The work done is a measure of the amount of
energy transferred. The same amount of mechanical or electrical work is done in
transferring equal amounts of energy. Mechanical work is done when a force moves.
No work is done in the scientific sense by someone standing still holding a
heavy pile of books: an upward force is exerted, but no motion results. If a
building worker carries ten bricks up to the first floor of a building, they do more
work than if they carry only one brick because they have to exert a larger force.
Even more work is required if they carry the ten bricks to the second floor.

The amount of work done W depends on

i. the size of the force, F, applied

ii. The distance, d, it moves.

work =force ×distance moved∈direction of force

W =Fd=∆ E

Where ΔE is the energy transferred.

 The unit of work is the joule (J); it is the work done when a force of 1 newton
(N) moves through 1 metre (m).
 For example, if you have to pull with a force of 50N to move a crate steadily 3m
in the direction of the force, the work done is 50N × 3m = 150Nm = 150 J.
 joules = newtons × metres

Energy resources

Introduction

Energy is needed to heat buildings, to make cars move, to provide artificial light, to
make computers work, and so on. This useful energy needs to be produced in
controllable energy transfers. For example, in power stations a supply of useful
energy is transferred by electric currents to different energy stores required by
electricity customers. The raw materials for energy production are energy sources.
These may be non-renewable or renewable.
There are many different types of energy sources. Such sources may be renewable
or non-renewable; non-renewable sources represent previously stored energy.
 Much of the energy used in everyday life is ultimately derived from the release of
energy in the Sun by nuclear fusion. Sunlight is used in biological processes to store
chemical energy and can be harnessed to generate electricity directly in solar cells.

Non-renewable energy sources

Once used up these cannot be replaced. Two advantages of all non-renewable

fuels are
1. Their high energy density (i.e. they are concentrated sources) and the
relatively small size of the energy transfer device (e.g. a furnace) which
releases their energy.
2. Their ready availability when energy demand increases suddenly or
fluctuates seasonally.

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas, formed from the remains of
plants and animals which lived millions of years ago and obtained energy
originally from the Sun.
Their energy is stored as chemical energy and at present they are our main
energy source.
Burning fossil fuels in power stations and in cars pollutes the atmosphere
with harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide.
Carbon dioxide emission aggravates the greenhouse effect and increases
global warming. It is not immediately feasible to prevent large amounts of
carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere, but less is produced by burning
natural gas than by burning oil or coal; burning coal produces most carbon
dioxide for each unit of energy produced.
When coal and oil are burnt they also produce sulfur dioxide which causes
acid rain. The sulfur dioxide can be extracted from the waste gases so it
does not enter the atmosphere or the sulfur can be removed from the fuel
before combustion, but these are both costly processes which increase the
price of electricity produced using these measures.

Nuclear fuels

The energy released in a nuclear reactor from the fission of uranium,

found as an ore in the ground, can be used to produce electricity.
Nuclear fuels do not pollute the atmosphere with carbon dioxide or
sulfur dioxide but they do generate radioactive waste materials with
very long half-lives; safe ways of storing this waste for perhaps
thousands of years must be found.
As long as a reactor is operating normally it does not pose a radiation
risk, but if an accident occurs, dangerous radioactive material can
leak from the reactor and spread over a large area.
Renewable energy sources

These cannot be exhausted and are generally non-polluting

Solar energy

The energy falling on the Earth from the Sun is transferred mostly by visible
light and infrared radiation.
Unfortunately, its low energy density requires large collecting devices and its
availability varies.
The greatest potential use of solar energy is as an energy source for low
temperature water heating.
The energy transferred by electromagnetic waves from the Sun is stored as
internal energy in solar panels and can be transferred by heating to produce
domestic hot water at about 70°C and to heat swimming pools.
Solar energy can also be used to produce high temperature heating, up to
3000°C or so, if a large curved mirror (a solar furnace) focuses the Sun’s rays
onto a small area. The energy can then be used to turn water to steam for
driving the turbine of an electric generator in a power station.
Solar cells, made from semiconducting materials, convert sunlight into
electricity directly. A number of cells connected together can be used to supply
electricity to homes and to the electronic equipment in communication and other
satellites.
They are also used for small-scale power generation in remote areas where
there is no electricity supply.
The energy generated by solar cells can be stored in batteries for later use.

Wind energy

Infrared radiation from the Sun is also responsible for generating wind energy.
Giant windmills called wind turbines with two or three blades each up to 30m
long drive electrical generators.
Wind turbines can be noisy and are considered unsightly by some people so there
is some environmental objection to wind farms, especially as the best sites are
often in coastal or upland areas of great natural beauty.

Wave energy

The rise and fall of sea waves have to be transferred by some kind of wave
energy converter into the rotary motion required to drive a generator.
It is a difficult problem and the large-scale production of electricity by this
means is unlikely in the near future.
However, small systems are being developed to supply island communities with
power.
 Tidal and hydroelectric energy

The flow of water from a higher to a lower level from behind a tidal barrage
(barrier) or a hydroelectric dam (tidal energy) is used to drive a water
turbine (water wheel) connected to a generator.
Such schemes have significant implications for the environment, as they may
destroy wildlife habitats of wading birds for example, and also for shipping
routes.
With good management, hydroelectric energy is a reliable energy source, but
there are risks connected with the construction of dams, and a variety of
problems may result from the impact of a dam on the environment. Land
previously used for forestry or farming may have to be flooded.

Geothermal energy

If cold water is pumped down a shaft into hot rocks below the Earth’s surface,
it may be forced up another shaft as steam.
This can be used to drive a turbine and generate electricity or to heat buildings.
The geothermal energy that heats the rocks is constantly being released by
radioactive elements deep in the Earth as they decay. Geothermal power
stations are in operation in the USA, New Zealand and Iceland.
A disadvantage is that they can only be built in very specific locations
where the underlying rocks are hot enough for the process to be viable.

Biofuels (vegetable fuels)

Biomass includes cultivated crops (e.g. oilseed rape), crop residues (e.g. cereal
straw), natural vegetation (e.g. gorse), trees grown for their wood (e.g. spruce),
animal dung and sewage.
Chemical energy can be stored in biofuels such as alcohol (ethanol) and methane
gas can be obtained from them by fermentation using enzymes or by
decomposition by bacterial action in the absence of air.
Liquid biofuels can replace petrol; although they have up to 50% less energy per
litre, they are lead- and sulfur-free and so do not pollute the atmosphere with
lead or sulfur dioxide when they are burned.
Biogas is a mix of methane and carbon dioxide with an energy content about two-
thirds that of natural gas.
It is produced from animal and human waste in digesters and used for heating
and cooking.
Biogas is cheap to produce on a small scale but not economically viable for large
scale production. It reduces landfills but due to its methane content it is
unstable and may explode.
The Sun as an energy source

The Sun is the main source of energy for many of the energy sources described
above. The exceptions are geothermal, nuclear and tidal sources.
Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas are derived from plants which grew millions
of years ago in biological processes requiring light from the Sun.
Sunlight is also needed by the plants used in biomass energy production today.
Energy from the Sun drives the weather systems which enable wind and
hydroelectric power to be harnessed.
Solar energy is used directly in solar cells for electricity generation. The source
of the Sun’s energy is nuclear fusion in the Sun.
At present it is not possible to reproduce the fusion process on Earth for the
large-scale production of electricity but much research is being directed
towards that goal.

Power stations

The processes involved in the production of electricity at power stations depend

on the energy source being used

Non-renewable sources

Fossil fuels and nuclear fuels are used in thermal power stations to provide
thermal energy that turns water into steam.
The steam drives turbines which in turn drive the generators that produce
electricity.
If fossil fuels are the energy source (usually coal but natural gas is favoured in
new stations), the steam is obtained from a boiler.
If nuclear fuel is used, such as uranium or plutonium, the steam is produced in a
heat exchanger. The action of a steam turbine resembles that of a water wheel
but moving steam, not moving water, causes the motion.
Steam enters the turbine and is directed by the stator or diaphragm (sets of
fixed blades) onto the rotor (sets of blades on a shaft that can rotate).
The rotor revolves and drives the electrical generator. The steam expands as it
passes through the turbine and the size of the blades increases along the
turbine to allow for this.
The overall efficiency of thermal power stations is only about 30%. They require
cooling towers to condense steam from the turbine to water and this is a waste
of energy.
In gas-fired power stations, natural gas is burnt in a gas turbine linked directly
to an electricity generator. The hot exhaust gases from the turbine are not
released into the atmosphere but used to produce steam in a boiler. The steam
is then used to generate more electricity from a steam turbine driving another
 generator. The efficiency is claimed to be over 50% without any extra fuel
consumption.
Furthermore, the gas turbines have a near 100% combustion efficiency, so very
little harmful exhaust gas (i.e. unburnt methane) is produced, and natural gas is
almost sulfur-free, so the environmental pollution caused is much less than for
coal.

Renewable sources

In most cases the renewable energy source is used to drive turbines

directly, as explained earlier in the cases of hydroelectric, wind, wave, tidal
and geothermal schemes.
The efficiency of a large installation can be as high as 85–90% since many of
the causes of loss in thermal power stations (e.g. water-cooling towers) are
absent.
A feature of some hydroelectric stations is pumped storage. Electricity
cannot be stored on a large scale but must be used as it is generated.
The demand varies with the time of day and the season, so in a pumped-
storage system electricity generated at off-peak periods is used to pump
water back up from a low-level reservoir to a higher-level one.
It is easier to do this than to reduce the output of the generator. At peak
times the potential energy of the water in the high-level reservoir is
converted back into electricity; three-quarters of the electricity that was
used to pump the water is generated.

Economic, environmental and social issues

When considering the large-scale generation of electricity, the economic

and environmental costs of using various energy sources have to be weighed
against the benefits that electricity brings to society as a clean, convenient
and fairly cheap energy supply.
Environmental problems such as polluting emissions that arise with different
energy sources were outlined.
Apart from people using less energy, how far pollution can be reduced by,
for example, installing desulfurisation processes in coal-fired power
stations, is often a matter of cost.
Although there are no fuel costs associated with electricity generation from
renewable energy sources such as wind power, the energy is so dilute that
the capital costs of setting up the generating installation are high.
Similarly, although fuel costs for nuclear power stations are relatively low,
the costs of building the stations and of dismantling them at the end of
their useful lives is higher than for gas- or coal-fired stations.
In the most favourable locations wind competes with coal and gas
generation.
 The reliability of a source has also to be considered, as well as how easily
production can be started up and shut down as demand for electricity
varies.
Natural gas power stations have a short start-up time, while coal and then
oil power stations take successively longer to start up; nuclear power
stations take longest.
They are all reliable in that they can produce electricity at any time of day
and in any season of the year as long as fuel is available.
Hydroelectric power stations are also very reliable and have a very short
start-up time, which means they can be switched on when the demand for
electricity peaks.
The electricity output of a tidal power station, although predictable, is not
as reliable because it depends on the height of the tide which varies over
daily, monthly and seasonal time scales.
The wind and the Sun are even less reliable sources of energy since the
output of a wind turbine changes with the strength of the wind and that of
a solar cell with the intensity of light falling on it; the output may not be
able to match the demand for electricity at a particular time.
Renewable sources are still only being used on a small scale globally.

Efficiency of energy transfers

The efficiency of a device is the percentage of the energy supplied to it that is

usefully transferred.

Efficiency is calculated from the expression

useful energy output

efficiency = × 100 %
total energy input

work done on theload

efficiency = ×100 %
work done by the effort

Power
o The more powerful a car is, the faster it can accelerate or climb a hill, i.e.
the more rapidly it does work.
o The power of a device is the work it does per second, i.e. the rate at
which it does work.
o This is the same as the rate at which it transfers energy from one store to
another.
 work done energy transfered
Power= =
time taken time taken

W
power , P= , where W is the work done in time t,
t

∆E
power P= , where ∆ E is the energy transferred
t
The unit of power is the watt (W) and is a rate of working of 1joule per
second, i.e. 1W = 1 J/s.
Larger units are the kilowatt (kW) and the megawatt (MW):
1kW = 1000W

1MW = 1 000 000W

If a machine does 500J of work in 10s, its power is 500J/10 s = 50 J/s =

50W.