Barsallo, Ana Melisa

Problem 1
1/1
Atmospheric airs density varies with elevation; it decreases as the altitude increases. Air
pressure and temperature also vary with elevation.
Is it valid for air to be idealized as an ideal gas?
As stated in the problem, air behaves much as other ideal gases. At normal conditions
such as standard temperature and pressure, most real gases behave qualitatively like an
ideal gas.
Generally, gases behave more like ideal gases at higher temperatures and lower pressure.
At higher elevation air becomes less dense and the pressure decreases, making it easier to
idealize. However at higher altitudes the temperature drops ad the ideal gas model tends
to fail at lower temperatures.
It is convenient to idealize air as an ideal gas, and under STP conditions and relatively
low pressures and regular temperatures, it will, indeed, behave as an ideal gas

Barsallo, Ana Melisa

Problem 2
1/1
Working of a constant-volume gas thermometer
A constant volume gas thermometer is composed of a bulb filled with a fixed amount of a
dilute gas that is attached to a mercury manometer. A manometer is a device used to
measure pressure. The mercury manometer has a column partially filled with mercury
that is connected to a flexible tube that has another partially filled column of mercury,
called a reservoir, attached to the other end. The height of the mercury in the first column
is set to a reference point or pressure P that it must stay at, while the mercury in the
reservoir is allowed to move up and down in relation to a scale or ruler.
From the Law of Gay-Lussac, we know that when the temperature of an ideal gas
increases, that there is a corresponding increase in pressure. Conversely, when the
temperature decreases, so does the pressure. Constant volume gas thermometers operate
on the same principle, with the restrictions that the gas is at low pressure and the
temperature of it is well above that of liquefaction.
The gas bulb is inserted into a bath or place we wish to find the temperature of, such as
water. When the temperature increases or decreases, the volume also increases or
decreases as well as the pressure, as seen in Charles' Law and the Gay-Lussac's Law. The
pressure of the mercury also changes such that it begins to move up or down and thus
away from the reference point.
To stop this movement, which will also stop the gas from expanding, the reservoir at the
other end is physically lifted up or down, and the ensuing new pressure at this height is
measured. The difference between the reference and reservoir heights gives the final
pressure P, which is then used to calculate the temperature.
For a pressure P, the equation used to find the temperature T is:
T = aP + b

Is Renewable Energy Environmentally-friendly?

Barsallo, Ana Melisa
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resourcessuch as sunlight, wind,
rain, tides and geothermal heatwhich are renewable (naturally replenished). Renewable
energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity/micro hydro,
biomass and biofuels for transportation. Renewable energy technologies can have
significant environmental benefits. Unlike commonly used coal and natural gas, they can
generate electricity without releasing significant quantities of CO2 and other greenhouse
gases that contribute to climate change.
However the greenhouse gas savings from many biofuels have been found to be less than
what was originally anticipated. Also, we have to take into account the complete life
cycle of these technologies (How much energy is needed to produce them, to transport
them, to install them, to maintain them, and to dispose of them). Taking into account all
these factors, and the relatively high initial cost, can renewable energy still compete with
fossil-fuel sources?
In order to provide a clear discussion, one most look at the technologies in question
separately, since even though they do represent a decrease in the greenhouse gas
emissions, each technology carries some environmental disadvantages that depending on
each technology may be a small price to pay for the benefits they provide. One should
also take into consideration the energy payback time, this is the time period in which a
certain technology produces enough electrical energy to offset the energy needed for its
production, maintenance, and disposal.
Hydroelectric energy accounts for 16 percent of the global electricity consumption; it is
produced in 150 countries, China being its largest producer, producing around 17 percent
of domestic electric use. Since hydroelectric dams do not burn oil fuels, they do not
directly contribute to the production of carbon dioxide. While some carbon dioxide is
produced during manufacture and construction of the projects, it is only a tiny fraction of
the operating emissions of equivalent fossil-fuel electricity generation. According to the
ExternE Project by the Paul Scherrer Institut hydroelectricity produces the least
greenhouse gases and externality of any energy source.
Dams and reservoirs have many uses, including generating hydroelectric power and even
improving some aspects of the environment. However, adverse environmental impacts
have been identified during and after the constructions of many reservoirs. Warm climate
reservoirs generate methane, a greenhouse gas when the reservoirs are stratified, in which
the bottom layers lack oxygen and lead to the degradation of biomass through anaerobic
processes. Hydroelectric dams are the number one source of methane gas emissions
caused by humans; methane gas is a bigger contributor to climate change than carbon
dioxide.

Unlike fossil fuel based technologies, solar power is not a big contributor to the harmful
emissions of gases during operation, but the production of panels leads to some amount
of pollution. Most of the photovoltaic panels are made up of silicon and other toxic
metals like mercury, lead and cadmium. Pollution in the environment can also degrade
the quality and efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Also since not all the light from the sun is
absorbed by the solar panels therefore most solar panels have a 40 percent efficiency rate,
which means 60 percent of the sunlight gets wasted and is not harnessed. New emerging
technologies however have increased the rate of efficiency of solar panels from 40 to 80
percent and on the downside have increased the cost of solar panels as well.
Wind farms represent one of the lowest environmental impacts of all energy sources.
They occupy less land area per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated than any other
energy conversion system, apart from rooftop solar energy. They also generate the energy
used in its construction in just 3 months of operations, yet their operational lifetime is 20
to 25 years. Greenhouse gas emission and air pollution produced by its construction are
very small; it produces none when in operation. All of this makes wind generated energy
one of the most environmentally friendly of technologies out there right now.
Biomass energy is, perhaps, one of the more controversial types of alternative energy
being used today. It doesnt produce carbon; it is also widely available all over the world
and helps with waste management. However biomass is not totally clean when burned
since burning wood and other natural materials creates a lot of pollution, sometimes as
bad as the one that comes from coal. Also it is very inefficient, like biodiesel, which is
produced from biomass. One of biomasss biggest issue is the need to transport the fuel to
the energy plant and the carbon emissions and pollution that is made in doing so. The
contention is that this transforms a renewable energy into a type of energy that is
dependent on fossil fuel as a feature of the generation, which means that it may not be
that useful as a type of alternative energy.
Geothermal energy is very well known for its tiny impact; it is practically emission free
in all aspects of its production and use. Nonetheless there are some environmental
concerns. Water use is one of the big concerns, because geothermal power uses a lot of
water in its processes and such. There are also a number of different compounds that go
into the air, water, and ground as a result of the process, including sulfur dioxide and
silica discharges, both of which can harm the environment if the process is not handled
correctly. It is also known that a process called hydraulic fracturing is an integral part for
building a large scale and efficient geothermal system power plants that can trigger
earthquakes.
In conclusion, it is clear that while many technologies present very promising solutions
for the energy manufacturing process problems, many are also not as environmentally
friendly as the media or manufacturing companies would like us to believe. It takes a
deeper understanding of every technology to draw the lines of how environmentally
friendly they really are. A technology can only be fully emission free when emission free
renewable resources generate the energy that is consumed in their production and
operation.

References:

Nelson, Vaughn. Wind energy: renewable energy and the environment. CRC Press,
2013.
Armaroli, Nicola, and Vincenzo Balzani. "Energy for a sustainable world." WileyVCH, Weinheim (2011).
Welsch, Heinz, and Charlotte von Mllendorf. "Measuring Renewable Energy
Externalities: Evidence from Subjective Well-Being Data." University of Oldenburg,
Department of Economics Working Papers 373.14 (2014).
Conserve Energy Future (2015) Renewable Energy Pros and Cons. [Online]
Available:
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pros-and-cons-of-renewableenergy.php