Throughout our lives we have been living off the energy source of fossil fuels, but what if there were other sources of energy besides the fuels? And what could they be? Well, there are many other methods of gathering energy. There is solar, hydrogen fuel cells, biofuel, geothermal and more. But today you’ll be reading about the pros and cons of fossil fuels, wind energy, and thermal energy, more precisely geothermal energy. As well as some fun facts listed in the below paragraphs. Enjoy.
Fossil fuels have provided us with power for many years in the past and possible future. The fuels are the remains of long dead organisms buried deep within the earth’s crust, and take many years to develop. Because of this, fossil fuels are considered a …show more content…
This heat is generated by the movement of tiny particles within an object. The faster these particles move, the more heat is generated. Stoves and matches are examples of objects that conduct thermal energy. A few other examples of thermal energy are the Sun that heats our atmosphere with its energy, the burning of coal, natural gas, and boiling water. Unlike other energy forms, thermal energy is difficult to convert to other forms of energy. For thermal energy to be converted into any mechanical form, an engine is required. The engine plays the role of an energy conversion medium. Thermal energy can only be transferred through conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through solid materials. Convection happens when thermal energy is transferred through liquids. Radiation involves the transfer of thermal energy through gaseous means. The amount of thermal energy is not dependent upon the amount of work an object performs, unlike other energy sources. Geothermal energy is a form of thermal energy, but comes from the earth. The disadvantages of thermal energy, however, are to access the vast majority of the energy, the earth’s crust has to be drilled for extreme distances and maintenance of geothermal power plants require extreme care and caution, as the water that travels through the piping is superheated. This means that any turbine, heat exchanger, or pipe maintenance can be very, very …show more content…
They both cause little to no environmental hazards and appear to have no effect on climate change like burning fossil fuels does. Changing to these two methods permanently, though, may take some time. Oil companies have been known to try to buy out other businesses for land and lower the competition. This could happen with environmental friendly companies such as those who build the turbines for wind energy and generators for thermal. Another thing that may slow this down is finding relatively nice “wind sites” and establishing a connection with them to cities. Some wind site owners may not want to give up their land for the project, and thus slow the growth rate of turbines down. Same goes for thermal energy plants when it comes to land. All-inclusive, to build and switch to environmentally friendly energy sources may take quite sometime. It may be many years or even centuries until we have have accomplished gathering energy from turbines and thermal generator plants, if our planet even makes it to that
Fossil fuels have provided us with power for many years in the past and possible future. The fuels are the remains of long dead organisms buried deep within the earth’s crust, and take many years to develop. Because of this, fossil fuels are considered a …show more content…
This heat is generated by the movement of tiny particles within an object. The faster these particles move, the more heat is generated. Stoves and matches are examples of objects that conduct thermal energy. A few other examples of thermal energy are the Sun that heats our atmosphere with its energy, the burning of coal, natural gas, and boiling water. Unlike other energy forms, thermal energy is difficult to convert to other forms of energy. For thermal energy to be converted into any mechanical form, an engine is required. The engine plays the role of an energy conversion medium. Thermal energy can only be transferred through conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through solid materials. Convection happens when thermal energy is transferred through liquids. Radiation involves the transfer of thermal energy through gaseous means. The amount of thermal energy is not dependent upon the amount of work an object performs, unlike other energy sources. Geothermal energy is a form of thermal energy, but comes from the earth. The disadvantages of thermal energy, however, are to access the vast majority of the energy, the earth’s crust has to be drilled for extreme distances and maintenance of geothermal power plants require extreme care and caution, as the water that travels through the piping is superheated. This means that any turbine, heat exchanger, or pipe maintenance can be very, very …show more content…
They both cause little to no environmental hazards and appear to have no effect on climate change like burning fossil fuels does. Changing to these two methods permanently, though, may take some time. Oil companies have been known to try to buy out other businesses for land and lower the competition. This could happen with environmental friendly companies such as those who build the turbines for wind energy and generators for thermal. Another thing that may slow this down is finding relatively nice “wind sites” and establishing a connection with them to cities. Some wind site owners may not want to give up their land for the project, and thus slow the growth rate of turbines down. Same goes for thermal energy plants when it comes to land. All-inclusive, to build and switch to environmentally friendly energy sources may take quite sometime. It may be many years or even centuries until we have have accomplished gathering energy from turbines and thermal generator plants, if our planet even makes it to that