ENERGY ALTERNATIVES

By: Richard Brennan

Why We Must Consider Alternative Energy Sources?
First, the dependency on foreign energy sources damages our economy and it is bound to get
worse. Second, the greenhouse effect limits the burning of fossil fuel.
Coal produces the most CO
2
per kilowatt hour of electricity
.
The company, Applied Energy Services contributed $2 million toward planting of trees in
Guatemala. The number of trees planted will be able to absorb at least as much CO
2
as is emitted by the
companys generation plant in Connecticut. This Connecticut approach cannot be expanded to solve the
entire coal-versus-greenhouse effect problem

Energy Efficiency
Superinsulation
Superwindows
Automobile Fuel Efficiency
More Efficient Lighting
More Efficient Refrigerators

Nuclear Power
U.S. gets 20 percent of its electrical power from 108 reactors; France, 70 percent; Belgium, 66
percent; South Korea, 53 percent. Both Fission and Fusion are nuclear reactions, in that they change the
structure of atomic nucleus.

In fission, Uranium is the fuel used because it splinter readily, releasing two or more neutrons
which in turn strikes and splinter other uranium nuclei in a chain reaction. The result of the chain
reaction is the release of energy. On the other hand, in fusion, nuclei of hydrogen atoms are fused, at an
extraordinarily high temperature which results to a single, heavy helium nucleus, ejecting high-speed
neutrons in the process.

Cold Fusion
B. Stanley Pons, professor of chemistry at the University of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of the
University of Southampton achieved nuclear fusion in a jar of water at room temperature called cold
fusion. It occurred when an electric current was passed through a palladium absorbs deuterium atoms,
which are forces to fuse together, generating heat and neutrons.

Fission Reactor Fundamentals
The heart of a nuclear power plant is the reactor vessel, which contains a central core
The core contains a group of control rods made of neutron-absorbing material. In water-cooled reactors,
as long as a constant source of cooling is available, it is not dangerous. The major problem with reactors
is the dissipating the high residual heat in the core. New reactor design was developed which uses liquid
sodium. Liquid sodium has a higher boiling point and a superior ability to absorb heat surges. It can
prevent overheating but a problem with this is it can explode when exposed to air. Another approach to
a safer reactor as developed in Sweden and is based on the natural tendency of liquid of densities to
separate.

Breeder Reactor
The two main purposes of breeder reactor are to generate electrical energy and at the same
time produce fuel for fission reactors. Breeder reactor uses fission to convert uranium into plutonium
Therefore, more fuel is created than is consume. But this reactor was involved in a controversy. The
three main reasons for the controversy are safety, costs, and the danger of weapons proliferation.

Solar Power
It is the conversion of sunlight into electricity either directly using photovoltaics or indirectly
using concentrated solar power
Advantages
Solar energy is free
Solar energy does not cause pollution
Cost effective
Most systems have a life span of 30-40 years
Solar energy can be fed back to the utilities
Disadvantages
Solar energy can be harnesses when it is daytime and sunny
Solar collectors, panels, and cells, are expensive

Photovoltaic Technology
Photovoltaic effect occurs when light energy strikes two dissimilar materials and induces the
generation of electromotive force. In that sense, photovoltaic or solar cell is a solar battery. Photons of
light energy striking a thin wafer, free electrons that move toward the positive pole while the holes from
which the electrons were dislodged move toward negative pole, hence, electric current results

Exotic Energy Sources for Tomorrow
Hydrogen
Burns more efficiently and yields no toxic substances
Disadvantages: cost of production, storage, transportation
Wind Farms
Wind power machines range from simple rural water-pumping devices to large electricity-
generating turbines
Disadvantage: restricted to specific area, noisy, interfere with television reception
Biogas Digesters
Waste matter put into an airtight container is fermented anaerobically into methane gas
Manure Fueled Power Plant
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
Small differences in water temperature at different depths and be converted into useful
energy
Magma Energy
Generating electricity by tapping the immense reservoir of heat inside the Earth
ADVANCED SOURCES OF ENERGY
ENERGY FROM THE SUN
HYDROPOWER
WIND POWER.
SOLAR THERMAL ELECTRIC
PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) ELECTRICITY
SOLAR-NATURAL GAS HYBRID

ENERGY FROM NUCLEAR POWER
TWO OPPOSING PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
POSITIVE: Nuclear energy can provide a trillion times more energy than mass forces such as wind
and water and a million times more energy than chemical reactions of the industrial revolution, which
led to the transformation of society.
NEGATIVE: Nuclear energy and chemical power generate waste. As John P. Holdren of the
University of California has observed, mass forces do not fundamentally change the molecules they act
on, and so harnessing wind and water is inherently environmentally benign however chemical and
atomic reactions change molecules and nuclei respectively thereby creating waste.
Building nuclear reactors could be risky, therefore since its beginning in the 50s the nuclear
industry has meticulously examined safety features, but the prevailing concept of safety has changed.
Todays predominant approach to safety is known as PROBABILISTIC RISK ANALYSIS (PRA). PRA uses as a
definition of risk the probability that an event will multiplied by its consequences.
Stringent containment is one element necessary to all large scale applications of nuclear power.
New designs permit the deterministic exclusion of catastrophic consequences such as a core melt-
through (when the fuel overheats and melts through the floor of the reactor) or steam explosion.
Another safety improvement is the introduction of so-called PASSIVE FEATURES. In passively safe
reactors, several days should be able to pass before human intervention is required to contain
radioactivity. Clearly, nuclear energy must be critically assessed. Many future scenarios show meeting
energy needs and environmental demands without nuclear power will be difficult. At the same time, an
ever greater role for nuclear energy appears inconceivable to some given the current climate of political
opposition.


Other Sources of Energy
Bacteria and Fungi Together: A Biofuel Dream Team
New Enzyme May Lead to Cheaper Biofuels
Waste CO2 Could Be Source of Extra Power

EFFICIENT USES OF ENERGY

Efficient Use of Electricity
Electricity - a uniquely valuable, versatile and controllable form of energy which can perform
many tasks efficiently
Lighting, refrigeration, electric motors, medical technologies, computers and mass
communications are but a few of the improvements it provides to an expanding share of the
world's growing population
Technologies and implementation techniques now exist for using electricity more efficiently
while actually improving services.
The biggest savings in electricity can be attained in a few areas: lights, motor systems and the
refrigeration of food and rooms.
Efficient lighting hardware is now available for almost any application.
In the U.S. lighting consumes about a quarter of electricity---about 20 percent directly,
plus another 5 percent in cooling equipments to compensate for the unwanted heat
that lights emit
Converting to today's best hardware could save some 80 to 90 percent of the electricity
used for lighting, according to Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
most devices provide the same amount of light as older systems do, with less glare, less
noise, more pleasant color and no flicker
the lighting innovations that are commercially available can potentially save one
seventh to one fifth of all the electricity now used in the U.S
After lights, electric motors offer the best opportunity to effect major savings
Motors consume 65 to 70 percent of industrial electricity and more than half the
electricity generated in the U.S
Progress in motor and lighting technologies is matched by advances in superefficient appliances
Refrigerators and freezers can now consume 80 to 90 percent less electricity than
conventional models
Commercial refrigeration systems can save 50 percent
Televisions 75percent
Photocopiers 90 percent
Computers 95 percent
To capture major electricity savings cheaply, one must not only install new technologies but also
rethink the engineering of whole systems, paying meticulous attention to detail
Electric efficiency can also enhance industrial competitiveness
Electric efficiency could also break a major logjam in global development
Electric efficiency can also ease environmental pressures


ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY
By: Richard P. Brennan
Advanced Automobile
Diesels
The diesel engine is similar to the typical Otto engine in that there are pistons that carry out
the same four strokes: intake, compression, power, and exhaust. The differences are that theinlet
charge has no fuel mixed with it and there is no spark plug to initiate combustion.
The diesel's main advantage is its superior fuel economy.

Wankel Engines
The pistons are replaced with a rotor. The cycle is the same. The main advantage to the Wankel
is that it can produce more horsepower per pound of engine than a conventional engine but the rotor
configuration limits the compression ratio and requires many sliding seals, which sometimes leak,
thus causing more emissions and lower efficiency.

Alternate Fuels
A bill introduced by Representative Henry Waxman requires those areas with the worst
air pollution to establish extensive alternate fuel programs so that 30 percent of new cars in those areas
would be operating on cleaner-burning ethanol, methanol, or natural gas by 1998.

Aerodynamics
The aerodynamic drag of a car at a given speed is determined by thefrontal area and the drag
coefficient. Air resists the movement of a vehicle passing through it. The resisting or "drag" force
increases with the square of the vehicle speed: Twice the speed produces four times the force.

Electronics
Electronic components have already proven themselves in auto power-trains.
The result is a significant improvement in the safety and handling of U.S. cars and imports to this
country.

Electric Cars
Electric cars provide an on-demand power system (no fuel-wasting idling) that is quiet and non-
polluting. With electric cars, there is freedom from the dependence on gasoline that was such a
problem. With electric vehicles, everybody's garage's electrical plug becomes the only
"gas station" needed. The cost per mile of running an electric car is usually quoted as significantly less
than a gasoline powered vehicle.
Steering and Suspension
This makes the car more maneuverable at low speeds and more stable during high-speed
cornering. Other advancements are adjustable suspension and all-wheel drive.

SUPERSONIC AIR TRANSPORT
Our current fleet of passenger jets is aging, and new planes will be needed soon. At presentwe fl
y to our destinations in subsonic aircraft (except for those few who are privileged to fly in the supersonic
Concorde) powered by conventional jet engines and controlled, for the most part, by human pilots.
All this is on the verge of drastic change. Speed, power, and control are the three areas
of expected technological change. A quick look at the projected advancements is in order for the would-
be technologically literate.

Speed
New-generation passenger planes are on the drawing board today, and they all involve
significant increases in speed. Today's subsonic aircraft fly at velocities under the speed of sound,
which, as I have said, is 740 miles per hour [1184 kph] at sea level. The British/French Concorde is a
supersonic, and flies at Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound. A Mach number, named after the Austrian
physicist Ernst Mach, measures the ratio of an object's speed
tothe speed of sound. When the Mach number exceeds 1, the object is moving at supersonic speed.

High Speed Civil Transport
The first of the new age high-tech passenger aircraft, called the High Speed Civil Transport
(HSCT), is currently the focus of attention at NASA, Boeing, and McDonnell Douglas. The HSCT will
be capable of flying at speeds just under Mach 3. At this speed a plane could fly from Los Angeles
to Tokyo in about 4 hours. By way of comparison, the Boeing 747 makes the trip in about 10 hours.
The proposed HSCT will have a range of about 6500 miles [10,400 km] (compared with3200 [5120] for
the Concorde) and will seat 300 passengers--200 more than the Concorde

National Aero-Space Plane
Also called the X-30, the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) is now in early development by the
Air Force and NASA. Designers envision the day when this hydrogen-burning space plane will take off
from an ordinary runway and then accelerate in a steep climb into the high stratosphere.