Fossil Fuel |
Fuel that comes from the remnants of prehistoric organisms. |
Commercial Energy Sources |
Sources that are bought and sold. |
Subsistence Energy Sources |
Sources gathered by individuals for their own use. |
Conservation of Energy |
Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another. |
EROEI |
Energy return on energy invested. (Energy obtained from the fuel/Energy invested to get it) |
Cogeneration |
Using a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat. |
Coal |
A solid fuel formed from the remains of 280-360 million yr old plant materials |
Lignite, Sub-bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. |
The four types of coal ranked from lesser to greater age, exposure to pressure, and energy content. |
Petroleum |
A mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur that occur in underground deposits. |
Oil Refinery |
Uses heat to separate crude oil into gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, and diesel fuel. |
Natural Gas |
Exists as a part of petroleum in the ground, and in gaseous deposits separate from petroleum. |
Oil Sands |
A slow-moving, viscous deposit of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay. |
Bitumen (tar/pitch) |
A degraded kind of petroleum that forms when petroleum migrates close to the surface where bacteria metabolize some of the light hydrocarbons and others evaporate. |
Hubbert Curve |
A graph that shows the point at which world oil production would reach a maximum and the point at which we would run out of oil. |
Fission |
A nuclear reaction in which a neutron hits a larger atomic nucleus, which them splits into 2+ parts. |
Uranium 235 (U-235) |
The isotope of uranium that undergoes nuclear fission. |
Fuel Rods |
The cylindrical tubes that house the nuclear fuel used in nuclear power plants. |
Control Rods |
Cylindrical devices that can be inserted between fuel rods to absorb excess neutrons, thus slowing/stopping the fission reaction. |
Radioactive Waste |
Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be used in a power plant, but still emits radioactivity. |
High-Level Radioactive Waste |
The form of nuclear waste used in fuel rods. |
Low-Level Radioactive Waste |
The protective clothing, tools, rags, and other things used in routine plant maintenance. |
Nuclear Fusion |
The reaction that occurs when lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei and release heat. This powers the Sun and other stars. |
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