Sustainable Energy

Renewable Energy vs Sustainable Energy:

What’s the Di erence?

Prof. Ing. Francesco Corvaro

Email: f.corvaro@univpm.it

Forms of energy
Energy can take on many forms:

• Kinetic energy (e.g., of a moving automobile).

• Gravitational potential energy (e.g., of water in a reservoir).

• Thermal energy (e.g., in a pot of boiling water).

• Chemical energy (e.g., stored in a liter of gasoline).

• Nuclear energy (e.g., stored in a gram of uranium).

• Electrical energy (e.g., used by a light bulb).

• Electromagnetic energy (e.g., that associated with a beam of sunlight).

Forms of energy
• To make use of energy, it is generally necessary to convert energy from the
form in which it is obtained to a form that is compatible with our needs.

• For example, the stored chemical energy in a liter of gasoline can be

converted to heat and then into mechanical energy to move a vehicle.

• Energy conversions are an important aspect of the utilization of any energy

source, and the e ciency of these conversions is crucial to the viable
utilization of the energy source.

• In any process, energy is always conserved. (In nuclear physics, the

conservation of mass-energy, rather than the conservation of energy itself,
is employed because there is an equivalence between these two quantities.)

• However, in any energy conversion process, all of the energy does not end
up in the form needed.
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 Kinetic energy

• Kinetic energy is most obviously associated with moving

objects. For an object of mass, m, moving at a velocity, v,
the kinetic energy is

• In the metric system, m is in kilograms (kg), v is in meters

per second (m/s), and the resulting energy is in joules
(kg∙m2∙s-2)

Kinetic energy
• Kinetic energy is also associated with the rotational motion of
rotating objects. The energy is given as

• where I is the moment of inertia of the object, and is its angular

velocity.

• The moment of inertia is given in units of kg∙m2, and the angular

velocity is given in units of s-1.

• As before, the energy is measured in joules. Objects that have both

translational motion and rotational motion have both translational
kinetic energy and rotational kinetic energy.

Potential energy

• Potential energy is most conveniently thought of in terms

of gravitational potential, as explained. The concept of
potential energy also applies to other situations, such as
the energy contained in a compressed spring. In the case
of gravitational potential energy, an object of mass, m, at
a height h has potential energy given by
 Potential energy

• This potential energy can be converted into kinetic energy

by allowing the object to fall through the distance h
(assuming there are no drag forces), yielding

• The velocity of the object may thus be calculated to be

Thermal energy

• The thermal energy of a gas results from the kinetic

energy of the microscopic movement of the molecules.
Each molecule of gas has a kinetic energy associated
with it that is given by previous equation, where m is the
mass of the molecule, and v is its average velocity.

• It can be shown by applying ideal gas theory that the

right-hand side of previous equation can be expressed in
terms of the temperature of the gas

Thermal energy
• Here kB is Boltzmann’s constant with a value of 1.3806 x 10-23 J/K, and T
is the absolute temperature in Kelvin (K).

• The total internal energy of a collection of gas molecules is obtained from

equation by multiplying the right-hand side by the number of gas
molecules present.

• From a practical standpoint, it is convenient to deal with macroscopic

quantities such as the number of moles of gas. Thus

• where n is the number of moles of gas, and R is the universal gas

constant; R=NAkB = 8.315 J/(mol∙K). NA is Avogadro’s number (6.022 x
1023 mol-1)
 Thermal energy
• It is sometimes convenient (particularly for solids and
liquids) to describe changes in the macroscopic thermal
energy of the material in terms of the speci c heat, C, of
the material. If a quantity of energy, Q, is supplied to a
piece of material of mass, m, then its temperature will
increase by an amount, DT, given by

Thermal energy
• Materials with a large speci c heat require a large amount of energy per unit
mass to raise their temperature by a given amount.

• On the other hand, these materials are able to store large amounts of thermal
energy per unit mass when its temperature is raised by a relatively small
amount.

• If a solid is heated to its melting point, then additional energy must be provided
to melt it.

• This energy is used to break the chemical bonds holding the solid together and
is referred to as the latent heat of fusion.

• The term latent heat is used to distinguish it from sensible heat because latent
heat does not change the temperature of a solid.

• When a liquid is heated to its boiling point, then additional energy, the latent
heat of vaporization, is needed to cause the material to undergo a phase
transition and become a gas

Chemical Energy
• Chemical energy is the energy associated with chemical
bonds, that is, the interaction energy between atomic
electrons in a material.

• Energy can be absorbed or released during a chemical

reaction as a result of changes in the bonds between the
atoms.

• If a process requires energy to be input for the reaction to

occur, then the process is referred to as endothermic.

• In general, these types of processes are not useful in the

production of energy, although they can be useful in the
storage of it.
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 Chemical Energy
• Processes that release energy are referred to as
exothermic and are of interest in this discussion. In
general, oxidation reactions (i.e., the burning of materials)
fall into this category.

• Some of the most relevant for the production of energy

are reactions that involve the oxidation of carbon. The
simplest of these is the oxidation of pure carbon (using
oxygen from the atmosphere) and the production of
carbon dioxide. This process is given by the formula

Chemical Energy
• The equation indicates the amount of energy released by
the combustion of 1 kg of pure carbon, that is the heat of
combustion (in MJ/kg) of carbon, which corresponds to a
release of 4.09 eV (eV = 1.6 x 10-19 J) of energy from the
oxidation of one atom of carbon. Note that the energy in
electron volts (eV) per atom (or molecule) for a substance
of molecular mass, M (given in g/mol), is

• where the energy released per unit mass, Q/m, is

expressed in MJ/kg.

Chemical Energy

• The oxidation of pure carbon is sometimes a suitable

approximation of the burning of coal.

• The burning of other fossil fuels [or other organic

materials such as wood, ethanol, or municipal waste
generally involves the oxidation of hydrocarbons.
 Chemical Energy
• Some of the simple reactions of this type are the burning
of methane (the major component of natural gas),

• the burning of ethanol (a common biofuel),

• and the burning of octane (an important component of

gasoline),

Chemical Energy

• Note that combustion reactions of hydrocarbons produce

steam (not liquid water) as a by-product.

• The energies given above are referred to as higher heating

values (HHV) and include the latent heat of vaporization of
the steam.

• This energy can only be recovered if the steam produced

is condensed.

Chemical Energy

• An important reaction for the production of energy by

animals is the combustion of glucose,

• the energy released by the oxidation of hydrogen, that is,

 Nuclear energy
• Nuclear energy is similar to chemical energy in that it is
the energy associated with the bonds between particles.

• The relevant energy scale of nuclear energy relates to the

bonds between the neutrons and protons within the
nucleus rather than to the bonds between atoms that
involve the atomic electrons.

• Nuclear bonds represent much larger amounts of energy

than chemical bonds, typically many megaelectron volt
(MeV) compared with a few electron volt.

Nuclear energy
• As a result, the amount of energy that can be released in
nuclear reactions is many orders of magnitude larger than
the energy that can be released in chemical reactions.
Through the equivalence of mass and energy as given by
Einstein’s relation,

• where c is the speed of light, nuclear energy can be

related to changes in the nuclear mass.

Nuclear energy
• The energy released in an exothermic nuclear reaction is
given in terms of the change in nuclear mass as energy can
be related to changes in the nuclear mass.

• Although this is also true for chemical energy, the energy

associated with chemical bonds and hence the changes in
mass associated with chemical reactions are very much
smaller than in the nuclear case.

• The release of nuclear energy can accompany the ssion

(breaking up) of heavy nuclei like those in uranium and
plutonium or the fusion (bonding) of light nuclei like the
isotopes of hydrogen.
 Electrical energy
• Electrical energy is associated with electrons in a
conductor. It is convenient to deal with the macroscopic
representation of electrical energy in terms of voltages
and cur-rents without the need to be concerned with the
microscopic description of the electrons. If a current, I,
ows through a circuit with a resistance, R, then there is a
voltage decrease, V, across the resistance given by

• where V is given in volt (V) if I is in ampere (A) and R is in

ohm (V).

Electrical energy

• The power dissipated through the resistance is given by

• When V and I are in volt and ampere, respectively, then P

is in watt.

Electrical energy

• From the previous equation, electrical energy (in joule) is

power (in watt) multiplied by time (in seconds).

• This is most often expressed in kilowatt-hours by dividing

the energy in joule by the conversion factor 3.6 x 106 J/
kWh.

• Correspondingly, the conversion factor between kilowatt-

hours and megajoule (MJ) is 0.278 kWh/MJ.
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Electromagnetic energy
• Electromagnetic radiation may be thought of in terms of
associated electric and magnetic elds that form waves
(such as light waves).

• It may also be thought of, in the quantum mechanical

sense, as a collection of particles called photons.

• This radiation covers a wide range of wavelengths, as

illustrated in Figure. Di erent wavelength regimes are, for
example, X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared
radiation radio waves, and so on.

Electromagnetic energy

Electromagnetic energy

• Electromagnetic radiation from the sun (which falls largely

in the visible region of the spectrum) is one of our most
important sources of energy because it is the basic
source responsible for most other sources of energy, such
as fossil fuels, wind, solar radiation, and biomass energy.

• Figure illustrates that, as the wavelength decreases, the

energy content of the radiation increases.
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Electromagnetic energy

• For any wave, the wavelength, l, is related to the

frequency, f, in terms of the velocity (in this case, the
speed of light, c = 3 x 108 m/s) by

• where the wavelength is given in meters when the velocity

is given in meters per second (m/s) and the frequency in
Hertz (s-1).

Electromagnetic energy

• If the electromagnetic energy is considered in terms of

quanta of energy (i.e., photons), then the energy
associated with each photon (E ) is related to the
frequency of the electromagnetic radiation (f ) as

• where h is Planck’s constant (Appendix II). Long-

wavelength radio waves may be produced arti cially by
electronic devices (i.e., radio transmitters).

Electromagnetic energy
• Radiation in the infrared to ultraviolet and X-ray regions of
the spectrum are most commonly produced (either
naturally or arti cially) by electrons undergoing transitions
between atomic energy levels.

• Short-wavelength (i.e., high energy) radiation most

commonly comes from transitions involving excited states
of nuclei.

• The energy in equation is in joule when Planck’s constant

is 6.626 x 10-34 J∙s. It is often convenient (as in Chapter 9)
to express the energy per photon in electron volts. In this
case, Planck’s constant is given by 4.136 x 10-15 eV∙s.
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 Some Basic
thermodynamics
• The thermodynamic behavior of systems is described by
the laws of thermodynamics. A number of physical laws
in uence thermodynamic behavior, but four are of
importance for the present discussion, and these are
traditionally numbered 0 to 3:

• 0. Two systems that are both in thermodynamic equilibrium

with a third system are in equilibrium with each other.

• 1. Energy is conserved.

• 2. A closed system will move toward equilibrium.

• 3. It is impossible to attain absolute zero temperature.

the Zeroth Law of

thermodynamics
• The zeroth law is a generalization of the de nition of
thermal equilibrium. Two systems are in thermal
equilibrium if they are able to transfer heat between each
other but do not.

• This law implies that the thermodynamic state of a system

can be de ned by a single parameter, the temperature.

• Two systems in thermal equilibrium are de ned to be at

the same temperature.

the Zeroth Law of

thermodynamics
• Temperature may be de ned in terms of the ideal gas law,

• where P is pressure, V is volume, N is the number of gas

molecules, kB is Boltzmann’s constant, and T is the
temperature in Kelvin.

• No matter what system is in use (Celsius, Kelvin,

Fahrenheit, etc.), two parameters de ne a temperature
scale: the location of zero and the size of the degree.
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 the Zeroth Law of
thermodynamics
• Reference points that de ne a temperature scale are often
based on the properties of water, as in the case of the
Celsius and Fahrenheit scales.

• For example, the zero point of the Celsius temperature scale

is the freezing point of water. This zero is not absolute zero
temperature, and this means that the temperature scale is
not an absolute scale.

• To describe an absolute temperature scale using the size of

the degree as de ned on the Celsius scale, the ideal gas law
can be used. Because a given volume of an ideal gas has a
pressure that is linearly related to the absolute temperature
by previous equation, when the temperature goes to
absolute zero, then the pressure goes to zero.

the Zeroth Law of

thermodynamics
• Figure shows a plot of pressure as a function of
temperature measured in Celsius for an ideal gas.
Extrapolating the temperature until the pressure goes to
zero gives the value of absolute zero on the Celsius scale.
This is the basis for de ning the temperature scale in
Kelvin, as shown in the gure where K = °C + 273.

the First Law of

thermodynamics
• Energy conservation, as it applies to thermodynamic systems,
may be viewed in terms of next gure. Gas is contained in a
cylinder that is sealed with a piston. If energy is supplied in the
form of heat to the system by, for example, a ame, then two
possible situations may be considered;

1. If the piston is held xed, then the internal energy of the gas
is increased by the addition of energy, and this is manifested
by an increase in temperature.

2. If the piston is allowed to move, then some of the energy may

be used to lift the piston, thereby doing work against the
force of gravity.
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 the First Law of
thermodynamics
• In general,

• where Q is the energy input in the form of heat, DU is the

change in the internal energy of the gas as indicated by
the change in temperature, and W is the mechanical work
that is done.

• Equation forms the basis for understanding energy

conversion processes involving heat in closed systems.

the First Law of

thermodynamics

the Second Law of

thermodynamics

• There are many ways of stating the second law of

thermodynamics. In addition to the statement given at the
beginning of this section (a closed system will move
toward equilibrium), the second law may also be stated as
follows:

• Heat naturally ows from a hot place to a cold place, or

• The entropy of the universe always increases.

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 the Second Law of
thermodynamics
• To see that these three statements are just alternate ways
of looking at the same phenomenon, consider the
behavior of a hot piece of metal and a cold piece of metal
that are brought into thermal contact.

• This system will attain thermal equilibrium by transferring

heat from the hot metal to the cold metal until the two
pieces of metal are at the same temperature.

• When the two pieces of metal are at the same

temperature, they are in thermal equilibrium, as de ned
by the zeroth law.

the Second Law of

thermodynamics

• Entropy is a measure of disorder.

• Two pieces of metal at di erent temperature represent a

state of higher order (i.e., the hot metal atoms are
separated from the cold metal atoms) than if they were in
thermal equilibrium (i.e., at the same temperature).

• Thus, attaining equilibrium increases the overall entropy

of the universe.

the Second Law of

thermodynamics
• Thermal energy can be used to do work only if heat ows from hot to
cold. An analogy is the conversion of potential energy to kinetic
energy.

• Consider, for example, water in a reservoir at some height above a

hydroelectric generating station.

• As long as the water remains in the reservoir, no work is done, and

no electricity is generated.

• When the water is allowed to run downhill and through the station,
electricity is generated. In this way, gravitational potential energy is
converted into kinetic energy and subsequently into electrical
energy.
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 the Second Law of
thermodynamics

• In the same way, the thermal energy contained in a piece

of hot material can be converted into other forms of
energy if it ows toward something that is at a lower
temperature.

• This is the principle of operation in a heat engine.

Heat engines and heat

Pumps
• If heat moves from a hot reservoir to a cold reservoir,
some of the thermal energy can be extracted to do
mechanical work.

• A device that does this is called a heat engine, such as,

for example, a steam turbine, a gasoline automobile
engine, or a jet engine.

• Figure shows a schematic of a heat engine. Heat is

removed from a hot reservoir (at temperature Th). Some of
this heat is deposited in a cold reservoir (at temperature
Tc), and some is used to do useful mechanical work, W.

Heat engines and heat

Pumps
• If the heat removed from the hot reservoir is Qh, and the heat
deposited in the cold reservoir is Qc, then

• This expression follows along the lines of equation and is a

direct result of the conservation of energy as stated by the rst
law of thermodynamics. From a practical standpoint, Qh can
be the energy produced by burning gasoline as in an
automobile engine.

• In this case, Qc would be the excess heat transferred into the

atmosphere, and W is the mechanical work that is done.
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 Heat engines and heat
Pumps
• The e ciency of this process, h, is the ratio of the useful
work done, W, to the total input energy, Qh. In percent,
this is written as

Heat engines and heat

Pumps

• From equation, it is seen that

• and the e ciency becomes

Heat engines and heat

Pumps

• A consequence of the work of the French engineer Sadi

Carnot is that the ratio of Qc to Qh can be expressed as
the ratio of the reservoir temperatures:

• This expression allows equation to be written as

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 Heat engines and heat
Pumps

• This form is convenient because Tc and Th are more easily

measured quantities than Qc and Qh.

• It is essential in equation that the temperatures be measured

on an absolute temperature scale (typically Kelvin).

• Measuring temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit in this

equation will yield incorrect results. The e ciency as stated
by equation is known as the ideal Carnot e ciency and is the
maximum e ciency attainable by a heat engine utilizing hot
and cold reservoirs with temperatures Th and Tc, respectively.

Heat engines and heat

Pumps

• It is seen that 100% e ciency is achieved only if Tc is zero

degrees (on an absolute scale) which cannot be achieved.

• It is also seen in Figure that Qc cannot be larger than Qh.

From Carnot’s relationship, Qc. Qh would imply Tc. Th and
would be inconsistent with the de nition of hot and cold.

• Although the Carnot e ciency of a heat engine is the

maximum theoretical e ciency, real heat engines typically
operate at e ciencies that can be much less than the
Carnot e ciency.

Heat engines and heat

Pumps
• A heat pump is basically just the opposite of a heat
engine; it uses mechanical energy to move heat from a
cold reservoir to a hot reservoir. A schematic of a heat
pump is shown in the next gure. Conservation of energy
requires that

• The ratio of heat deposited into the hot reservoir to the

amount of work done can be de ned as
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 Heat engines and heat
Pumps
• This quantity is referred to as the coe cient of
performance (COP) of the heat pump, and it is obvious
from Figure that this quantity will be greater than 1 (or, in
percent, 100%). Equation can be rewritten to give the
ideal Carnot coe cient of performance a

Heat engines and heat

Pumps
• this equation becomes

• Heat pumps have practical applications for the transfer of

heat from a cold reservoir to a hot reservoir. Air conditioners
and refrigerators are examples of such devices.

• A heat pump can also heat a house on a cold day by

moving heat from the outside to the inside. In this case, the
relatively cold air outside is the cold reservoir, and the
relatively warm air inside is the hot reservoir.

Heat engines and heat

Pumps

• Heat pumps specially designed for this purpose are in

fairly common use in many parts of North America where
winter temperatures are not extreme.

• Although heat pumps can be economically attractive for

heating purposes, a careful consideration of capital costs,
maintenance costs, local climate, and other factors is
necessary to assess their viability.
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 Electricity Generation
• Much of the energy used by society is in the form of electricity.
The current section provides a brief overview of how electricity is
presently generated and distributed.

• Figure shows the distribution of energy sources used to

generate electricity world-wide. It can be seen that the majority
of electricity comes from fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and
hydroelectricity.

Electricity Generation
• A very small component, about 1%, comes from other sources (solar,
wind, tidal, biofuels, etc.).

• Fossil fuels and nuclear are similar in that they produce electricity from
heat by rst converting it into mechanical energy (using, for example,
a turbine) and then into electricity (using a generator).

• Hydroelectricity is produced by converting the gravitational potential

energy associated with water at higher elevations into mechanical
energy and then into electricity.

• The details of other electricity production methods are quite variable

and are discussed in detail throughout the remainder of the text. The
present section concentrates on methods (speci cally fossil fuels and
nuclear) that convert heat into mechanical energy and then into
electricity.

Electricity Generation
• The conversion of heat into mechanical energy has been
discussed in some detail in the previous section.

• Any device that works in this manner is a heat engine,

and its ultimate e ciency is limited by the temperatures
involved, as described by Carnot.

• The goal in achieving a high e ciency is to maintain the

hot reservoir at as high a temperature as possible and to
maintain the low temperature reservoir at as low a
temperature as possible.
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 Electricity Generation

• Two approaches are commonly used for the generation of

electricity from fossil fuels: thermal generation and
combustion turbines.

• In thermal generation, the fuel is burned to produce heat,

which is used to produce steam, which, in turn drives a
turbine.

• These facilities most commonly use coal but can, in

principle, run on any combustible fuel.

Electricity Generation

• Combustion turbines use the hot gas produced by the

combustion itself to drive the turbine.

• Combustion turbines commonly use natural gas as a fuel

but can use any highly volatile liquid fuel (i.e., gasoline).

• Nuclear energy is used to produce electricity exclusively

by the thermal method and, aside from di erences in how
the heat is produced, follows closely along the lines of
thermal generation from coal.

Thermal Electricity
Generation
• One of the basic
requirements of a
thermal generation
facility is a sustainable
cold reservoir.
Typically, this is the
ocean, a large lake or
river, or the
atmosphere (by means
of cooling towers).

• The general diagram of

a generating station
that makes use of a
body of water as the
cold reservoir is
illustrated in Figure
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 Thermal Electricity
Generation
• The hot reservoir is steam in the boiler, which is produced
by burning a fossil fuel or by a nuclear reaction.

• The steam at high temperature and high pressure does

work as it passes through the turbine, causing the rotor
assembly to rotate.

• The energy extracted as the steam passes through the

turbine results in a reduction of both the temperature and
the pressure of the steam.

Thermal Electricity
Generation
• In many cases turbines consist of a series of stages
operating at decreasing pressure.

• Excess heat is transferred into the cold reservoir through

a heat exchanger. The mechanical energy is converted
into electricity by means of a generator.

• The output of these facilities is measured in watts

electrical (We), where the subscript e stands for
“electrical”. The e ciency of converting thermal energy
into electricity is constrained by the Carnot e ciency of
converting heat into mechanical energy.

Thermal Electricity
Generation
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 Thermal Electricity
Generation
• The conversion of mechanical energy into electricity is
very high, typically ,90% or so. If water is used as the
cold reservoir, there is a clear lower temperature limit of
0°C for Tc.

• Cooling towers use the atmosphere as he cold reservoir.

• Although the value of Tc for cooling towers is not

necessarily limited to 0°C, it is typically somewhat more
variable than for water cooling.

Thermal Electricity
Generation

• Typically, net e ciencies around 35–45% are achieved in

the production of electricity from fossil fuels and around
30% for nuclear fuel.

• It is important to realize that the energy content of the

fossil or nuclear fuel must be roughly three times the
output in watts electrical because of the e ciency of the
heat engine.

Combustion turbines
• Combustion turbines are sometimes used for the production of
electricity from liquid or gaseous fossil fuels (often natural gas).

• The hot (burning) gas is fed directly into a turbine (much like a jet
engine) and turns the turbine as it decreases in temperature and
pressure.

• These facilities tend to be smaller than thermal (coal- red) fossil

fuel stations, and the cost of natural gas, gasoline, or oil is
typically higher (per joule) than it is for coal.

• Combustion turbines, are often used to supplement coal- red or

nuclear electricity production during periods of high demand
because they have relatively short start-up times compared to
thermal generating facilities.
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 Diesel Generators
• In areas where the local grid is isolated from a more
extensive distribution system, such as inhabited islands that
are not su ciently close to the mainland to conveniently run
a distribution cable or communities in remote regions, diesel
generators are a suitable method of electricity production.

• This station consists of six Wartsila Sulzer ZA40 diesel

generators, each rated at about 11 MWe for a total capacity
of 67 MWe, and serves an archipelago with a population of
about 13,000.

• The exhaust stacks and fuel tanks are clearly seen in the
photograph. The generators can burn regular diesel fuel or a
variety of similar density fuel oils, such as Bunker C.

Diesel Generators

Distribution of electricity
• Electricity is distributed from the generating station to the
end user by means of a system of electrically conducting
wires. Because all wires (other than superconductors) have
resistance, some electrical energy is lost and converted into
heat during transmission.

• From the previous discussion of electrical energy, it is easy to

understand the approach to minimizing resistive losses
during power transmission. For a given wire resistance, R,
the power loss is

• where I is the current in the wire.

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Distribution of electricity
• The resistance of the wire is determined by the mate-rial
from which the wire is made (usually aluminum), the diameter
of the wire, and its length. If a certain amount of power needs
to be transmitted, Ptrans, over some distance, then from
equation

• where V is the voltage. From this expression, the current is

given by

• and substituting into equation gives

Distribution of electricity
• Thus, it is clear that the power loss is inversely proportional
to the square of the voltage.

• Transmitting electric power through a transmission cable is

the most e cient when the voltage is as high as practical.

• This is the approach taken to electric power distribution: The

longer the distance that the power needs to be transmitted
(and the greater the resistance), then (generally) the higher
the voltage.

• Because the voltage for residential use is typically 220 V, the

voltage must be stepped down using a power distribution
transformer.

Distribution of electricity
• Figures show power distribution transformers used for
changing the voltage (up or down) for distribution over
large distances or for residential use.
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 Distribution of electricity
• Figure shows a typical power distribution system with high-voltage
transmission lines and step-down transformers for providing
appropriate voltages to industrial and residential customers.

Summary
• Energy can exist in a variety of forms. It is convenient,
from a practical standpoint, to think of these forms as
kinetic energy associated with a moving object,
gravitational potential energy associated with a mass that
is vertically displaced, thermal energy associated with an
object at an elevated temperature, chemical energy
associated with the electronic bonds between atoms,
nuclear energy resulting from the bonding of neutrons and
protons in a nucleus, electrical energy corresponding to a
ow of electric current, and electromagnetic energy
associated with photons.

Summary

• This chapter has also provided an introduction to the

basic principles of thermodynamics: the de nition of
temperature, the conservation of energy, the tendency of
all systems to achieve thermal equilibrium, and the
inability to reach absolute zero temperature.

• These principles were applied to a thermodynamic

system to describe the behavior of a heat engine in terms
of its Carnot e ciency and a heat pump in terms of its
coe cient of performance.
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 Summary
• Some of the ways in which primary energy sources can be
transformed into forms that are suitable for applications have
been discussed.

• Examples are the conversion of the chemical energy in fossil

fuels into heat energy by combustion or the conversion of
mechanical energy in the wind into electricity.

• These conversion processes rely on the development of

appropriate technologies but are also governed by
fundamental physical laws. For example, more e cient
automobile engines can be developed, but ultimately the
limiting factors for e ciency are the laws of thermodynamics.

Summary

• Finally, the chapter overviewed the basic principles for the

production and distribution of electricity.

• The thermal generation of electricity by fossil fuels or

nuclear energy is limited by the Carnot e ciency of a heat
engine.

• On the basis of Ohm’s law, the chapter has shown that

losses are minimized when electricity is transmitted at
high voltage.
ffi
ffi