ENERGY BY SCOTT FIALA SCHEDULE LOGISTICS I A

ENERGY BY SCOTT FIALA

SCHEDULE **LOGISTICS* I) A SHARED SENSE OF IGNORANCE II) GLOBAL WARMING III) WHAT IS ENERGY IV) TYPES OF ENERGY V) OUR ENERGY VARIANTS VI) THERMODYNAMICS (HEAT AND MECHANICAL ENERGY) VII) CONCERNING ELECTRICITY STATISTICS VIII) SOME PRETTY AND NOT-SO PRETTY PICTURES IX) RENEWABLE VS NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY X) MAJOR ASPECTS OF ENERGY SOURCES XI) RADIATION XII) THE ECONOMY XIII) POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES XIV) MARVEL VS DC 2

QUESTION TIME YES OR NO: HONESTLY, WOULD YOU BE VOLUNTARILY WILLING TO DRAMTICALLY CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE TO: REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF CARBON PRODUCED BY YOUR DAILY ACTIVITIES AND THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY YOU USE DAILY? 3

IGNORANCE • SOME PEOPLE’S MINDSETS CAN’T BE CHANGED – SO WHY BOTHER? • “MOST” OF THE WORLD DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THE ISSUES OF THE ANTRHOPOSCENE – BUT, THEY DO (DEEP DOWN), RIGHT? • THE BEST WAY TO ENACT (MAJOR) CHANGE IS TO FORCE IT OR LET IT FORCE YOU 4

GLOBAL WARMING • WHAT IS IT? – GREENHOUSE GASSES (F) + INCREASED HUMAN ACTIVITY (F) = EXPONENTIAL WARMING OF OUR PLANET (C)1 • (F) FACT, (C) CONCLUSION • CONTINUING DEMAND TO NEED ENERGY NECESSITATES THE BURNING OF FUELS TO CREATE THE ELECTRICITY THAT POWERS OUR SOCIETY – COAL, OIL, AND GAS 5

WHAT IS ENERGY? • ENERGY IS THE “CAPACITY TO DO WORK” (JOULES) – WORK IS THE “ACTION OF MOVING SOMETHING AGAINST A FORCE” 2 • THIS IS CONFUSING BECAUSE ENERGY IS AN ABSTRACT NOTION – BASICALLY, IT’S SOMETHING THAT GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO DO/PERFORM SOMETHING ELSE • IT’S HOW THINGS CHANGE/MOVE 6

TYPES OF ENERGY • JOULES = ((KG)(M 2))/(S 2) • KINETIC – HAS TO DO WITH MOTION • MECHANICAL, THERMAL, ELECTRICAL, EM RADIATION 3 • POTENTIAL – HAS TO DO WITH (RELATIVE) POSITION(S) • GRAVITATIONAL, EM (TWO CHARGES), NUCLEAR 7

KINETIC ENERGY EXAMPLE 8

POTENTIAL ENERGY EXAMPLE 9

WE USE MOST ENERGY VARIANTS • TYPICALLY, WE USE BOTH FORMS OF ENERGY – KINETIC: “MECHANICAL” (WIND), (GEO)THERMAL, ELECTRICAL (BULK FLOW), EM RADIATION (SOLAR) – POTENTIAL: GRAVITATIONAL (HYDROELECTRIC), NUCLEAR • THE ENERGY SOURCES WE USE GENERALLY ARE CONVERTED INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY 10

THERMODYNAMICS • 1 ST LAW: ENERGY CAN NEITHER BE CREATED NOR DESTROYED (CONSERVATION OF ENERGY) • IN OTHER WORDS, NO MATTER HOW ENEREGY IS USED, DISSIPATED, TRANSFERRED, OR CONSUMED, THAT ENERGY WILL STILL EXIST IN SOME FORM OR ANOTHER • WE JUST CONVERT ALL THOSE ENERGY VARIANTS INTO A SPECIFIC FORM OF ENERGY, CALLED “ELECTRICITY” 11

2018, USA • • • GEOTHERMAL: 0. 3% SOLAR: 1. 5% WIND: 6. 5% HYDROELECTRIC 4: 7% NUCLEAR: 19% FOSSIL FUELS: 64%* – NATURAL GAS: 35% – COAL: 28% ELECTRICITY GENERATION (VIA ENERGY VARIANTS) 12

QUESTION TIME DOES ANYONE SEE HOW THOSE DISTRIBUTION OF PERCENTAGES MAY LEAD TO CONCERING THOUGHTS REGARDING CLIMATE CHANGE? 13

PRETTY PICTURES 14

PRETTY PICTURES SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR CELLS ABSORB SOLAR RADIATION. WHEN THE SUN’S RAYS INTERACT WITH THE SILICON CELL, ELECTRONS BEGIN TO MOVE, CREATING A FLOW OF ELECTRIC CURRENT 5 15

NOT-SO-PRETTY PICTURES 16

RENEWABLE VS NONRENEWABLE ENERGY • RENEWABLE (10%): AN ENERGY SOURCE THAT CAN EASILY BE REPLENISHED – SOLAR, GEOTHERMAL, WIND, HYDROELECTRIC • NON-RENEWABLE (90%): AN ENERGY SOURCE THAT CANNOT BE EASILY REPLENISHED 6 – NUCLEAR AND FOSSIL FUELS ***REMEMBER THE 1 ST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS 17

SOME MAIN ASPECTS OF ENERGY SOURCES • • • (-) FOSSIL FUELS ARE FORMED DUE TO THE RESULTS OF HEAT AND PRESSURE EXERTED ON DEAD ORGANISMS OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS 6 (-) SOLAR/WIND ENERGY RELIES ON “UNPREDICTABLE” WEATHER PATTERNS (-) SOLAR PANELS (I. E. THE PURE SILICON GEL) REQUIRES THE PURIFICATION OF IMPURE SILICON FROM QUARTZ THAT RESULTS IN A HIGH PRODUCTION OF HARMFUL BI-PRODUCTS AND USE OF ENERGY 11 (+) HYDROELECTRIC POWER RELIES ON THE WATER CYCLE, AND SO IS CONSTANT BECAUSE OF THE SUN (+) NUCLEAR ENERGY IS CREATED FROM THE FISSION (A SPLITTING) OF URANIUM ATOMS; NUCLEAR FORCES VS CHEMICAL BONDS (-) NUCLEAR POWER NECESSITATES THE STORAGE OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE PRODUCTS; STORAGE IS ONLY A TEMPORARY SOLUTION 7 18

RADIATION • THREE MAIN TYPES OF RADIATION: ALPHA, BETA AND GAMMA – TYPE OF RADIAITON DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF PARTICLE EMITTED FROM THE RADIOACTIVE DECAY OF AN ISOTOPE • ALPHA: LEAST HARMFUL (HELIUM-4) – SKIN WILL TYPICALLY STOP ALPHA PARTICLES FROM ENTERING YOUR BODY • BETA: MORE HARMFUL (ELECTRON) – CAN PERMEATE THE SKIN AND CAUSE RADIATION BURNS • BUT, CAN BE STOPPED BY A FEW MILLIMETERS OF A SUBSTANCE SUCH AS ALUMINUM OR A LAYER OF CLOTHING 19

IONIZING RADIAITON • IONIZING RADIAITON: RADIATION (A PARTICLE OR EM WAVE) THAT HAS SUFFIEICNT ENERGY TO DETACH ELECTONS FROM ATOMS (HENCE IT CREATES IONS) – IONS CAN DISRUPT DNA BASE-PAIRING OR STRUCTURE (WHICH INEVITABLY CAN LEAD TO MUTATIONS) • GAMMA: MOST HARMFUL OF THE THREE – CAN BE STOPPED BY SEVERAL FEET OF CONCRETE OR A FEW INCHES OF LEAD, BUT WILL PASS THROUGH THE HUMAN BODY • BUT THE BODY WILL ALWAYS ABSORB SOME FRACTION OF THE ENERGY 8 20

IONIZING RADIAITON • INTERNAL RADIATION BY ALPHA/BETA PARTICLES CAN BE AS HARMFUL AS EXTERNAL GAMMA RADIATION 21

A FEW MORE MAIN ASPECTS OF ENERGY SOURCES • GEOTHERMAL, SOLAR, WIND, AND HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY SOURCES ARE ALL EMISSION-FREE IN THAT THEY DON’T CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING VIA THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT • NUCLEAR ENERGY IS “EMISSION FREE” TOO, BUT IT REQUIRES A LOT OF ENERGY TO MINE AND REFINE THE RADIOACTIVE SOURCES • FOSSIL FUELS CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO GLOBAL WARMING BECAUSE THEIR USE RESULTS DIRECTLY IN THE PRODUCTION OF CO 2 (AND SOME OTHER GREENHOUSE GASSES) 22

THE ECONOMY • WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO WHAT ENERGY SOURCE IS THE BEST, THE ANSWER LIES IN COST AND EFFICIENCY – OUR SOCIETY WANTS TO MAKE THE MOST OF SOMETHING WITH AS LITTLE A COST AS POSSIBLE • THIS IS A HUGE REASON WHY WE’RE STILL USING THE MOST POLLUTING MANNERS OF ENERGY PRODUCTION TO THIS DAY • ONE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CAN PROVIDE THE ENERGY FOR A CITY SUCH AS BOSTON (OR OVER 700, 000 HOUSEHOLDS) – FOR THE EQUIVALENT, YOU WOULD NEED: • • OVER 235 MILES 2 OF A WIND FARM TO PRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT OF ENERGY OR 13. 7 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL OR 3. 4 MILLION TONS OF COAL OR 65. 8 BILLION FEET 3 OF NATURAL GAS 9 23

THE ECONOMY • • IT’S POSSIBLE FOR THE WORLD TO USE ONLY SOLAR POWER AS THE SUN GIVES OFF ROUGHLY 10, 000 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT WE REQUIRE, BUT SOLAR PANELS ARE EXPENSIVE – WHY SPEND THE MONEY ON SOLAR PANELS WHEN WE COULD JUST USE THE “CHEAP” FOSSIL FUELS THAT WE ALREADY USE? ! – IN SERIOUSNESS, IF THE WORLD WERE TO PUT IN THE EFFORT AND RESOURCES INTO PUTTING SOLAR PANELS UP EVERYWHERE IT WOULD BE A VERY SMART MOVE IN HARNESSING ALL THAT “POTENTIAL” ENERGY; NO NEED TO OVERTHINK IT (TESLA IS ALREADY MAKING BATTERIES) 10 IT WOULD TAKE TOO MUCH MONEY AND TOO MUCH TIME TO SWITCH THE WAYS IN WHICH WE PRODUCE ENERGY – IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME THOUGH UNTIL WE RUN OUT OF FOSSIL FUELS AND ARE FORCED TO EITHER GO NUCLEAR OR GIVE UP THE ELECTRICITY THAT CONTINUES TO GROW IN DEMAND DAY-BY-DAY 24

POSSIBLE “ALTERNATIVES” • • HOW ABOUT EVOLTUION – IT HAS BEEN GIVEN MILLIONS OF YEARS TO “PERFECT” ITS PROCESSES, SO WHY NOT LEARN FROM IT? EVERY MAJOR SOCIETY HAS SEEN ITS DEMISE – WE ARE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THE POINT OF NO RETURN AT THIS RATE AND SO BEFORE WE KNOW IT, WE WILL JUST BE ANOTHER REMEMBERED SOCIETY ST 1 LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS, FOR US IN THIS CASE, MEANS THAT NO MATTER HOW WE MADE USE OF ENERGY IN THE PAST, THAT ENERGY IS STILL HERE WITH US, JUST IN A DIFFERENT FORM – THE QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE USE IT? PERSONALLY, I THINK USING SOLAR ENERGY IS OUR BEST BET (THIS MANNER OF GAING ENERGY HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 180 YEARS) – THEN, WE STOP PRODUCING GREENHOUSE GASSES AND LET PHOTOSYTHENTIC ORGANISMS DO THEIR JOB AND DECREASE ATOMPSOHERIC CARBON…BUT WILL (CAN) THIS HAPPEN? ! – END DEFORESTATION AND REPLANT TREES IN CERTAIN AREAS 12 25

(TIME FILLER: UV RAYS) 26

(TIME FILLER: UV RAYS) • UV RADIATION: 400 nm-10 nm (-10% OF SUN’S EM) – UVA: 400 nm-315 nm • 95%, PHOTOAGING – UVB: 315 nm-280 nm • 5%, SKIN BURNING • VITAMIN D • UV 27

(TIME FILLER: UV RAYS) • UVB RAYS – RESPONSIBLE FOR DNA DAMAGE AND CANCER • IMPAIRS NORMAL FUNCTION OF DNA • 1 st DEGREE BURN: POINT OF NO RETURN FOR CELLS – DETERMINED THEY ARE UNREPARABLE – IMMUNE RESPONSE: BLOOD FLOW INCREASES TO AREA – NEW CELLS START TO REPLACE THE DEAD ONES – MELANOCYTES START TO MULTIPLY IN EPIDERMIS • MELANIN IS AN ABSORBER OF UV RAYS (99%) – TANNING WITH UVA (ABSORBTION)/UVB (CREATION) • INHIBITS VITAMIN D PRODUCTION 28

(TIME FILLER: UV RAYS) • SUNSCREEN BLOCKS UVB 93 -97% – “BROAD-SPECTRUM” BLOCKS UVA TOO • CLOUDS ABSORB MOST UVB RAYS, BUT NOT UVA • WINDSHIELDS BLOCK 98% UVB AND 100% UVA 13 • TRANSITION LENSES BLOCK 100% UVA/UVB – REACT WITH UV RAYS 29

(RADICAL) CLASS QUESTION IF YOU HAVE SEEN “AVENGERS: ENDGAME”, CAN YOU PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND? 30

((RADICAL) CLASS QUESTION) • (DON’T FORGET, THE GAIA HYPOTHESIS: ORGANIC/INORGANIC ENTITIES ON THE EARTH COLLECTIVELY WORK TOGETHER TO MAINTAIN A HOMEOSTATIC BALANCE) – BUT WHAT IF THE EARTH GETS STRESSED TOO MUCH? • REMEMBER, IF GREENHOUSE GASSES GET TO A CERTAIN CONCENTRATION, IT WILL CAUSE THE EARTH TO HEAT TO THE POINT WHERE THERE IS NO MORE LIQUID WATER. AT THAT POINT, ALL LIFE WILL SOON CEASE TO EXIST SOON AFTER. WE’RE GOING TO REACH THAT POINT ONE DAY IF WE KEEP CAUSING THE GREENHOUSE GASSES TO CLIMB 31

((RADICAL) CLASS QUESTION) • MAYBE THE ONLY WAY TO ENSURE THE EARTH DOESN’T, IN SERIOUSNESS, WIND UP LIKE VENUS (THE 870°F PLANET) IS FOR A MASS EXTINCTION… OF THE HUMAN RACE. 32

THE END 33

CITATIONS • • • • A GLOBAL WARMING PREMIER: BY JEFFREY BENNETT 1 https: //cosmosmagazine. com/physics/what-is-energy 2 https: //physics. info/energy/ 3 https: //www. eia. gov/tools/faq. php? id=427&t=3 4 https: //news. energysage. com/solar-panels-work/ 5 https: //www. eia. gov/energyexplained/what-is-energy/ 6 https: //abcnews. go. com/International/current-model-storing-nuclear-waste-sufficiently-safestudy/story? id=68584067 7 https: //co. monmouth. nj. us/documents/118/RADIATION%20 HEALTH%20 BASICS. pdf 8 http: //home. olemiss. edu/~cmchengs/Global%20 Warming/Session%2017%20 Nuclear%20 Energy%20%20 Statistics/Nuclear%20 Energy. pdf 9 https: //rameznaam. com/2015/04/30/tesla-powerwall-battery-economics-almost-there/ 10 https: //www. usatoday. com/story/opinion/2020/01/22/climate-change-solution-nuclear-energy-our-best-hopecolumn/2821183001/ 11 https: //www. theverge. com/2020/1/31/21115862/davos-1 -trillion-trees-controversy-world-economic-forumcampaign 12 https: //www. autoblog. com/2013/09/06/not-all-car-windows-protect-against-uv-rays/ 13 34