Portal:Energy
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The Energy Portal Welcome to Wikipedia's Energy portal, your gateway to energy. This portal is aimed at giving you access to all energy related topics in all of its forms.
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Introduction
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek ἐνέργεια (enérgeia) 'activity') is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed. The unit of measurement for energy in the International System of Units (SI) is the joule (J).
Common forms of energy include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the potential energy stored by an object (for instance due to its position in a field), the elastic energy stored in a solid object, chemical energy associated with chemical reactions, the radiant energy carried by electromagnetic radiation, and the internal energy contained within a thermodynamic system. All living organisms constantly take in and release energy.
Due to mass–energy equivalence, any object that has mass when stationary (called rest mass) also has an equivalent amount of energy whose form is called rest energy, and any additional energy (of any form) acquired by the object above that rest energy will increase the object's total mass just as it increases its total energy.
Human civilization requires energy to function, which it gets from energy resources such as fossil fuels, nuclear fuel, or renewable energy. The Earth's climate and ecosystems processes are driven by the energy the planet receives from the Sun (although a small amount is also contributed by geothermal energy). (Full article...)
Selected article
Acceptance of peak oil is far from universal, and the only reliable way to identify its existence will be in retrospect. One alternative scenario is that global production will eventually follow an 'undulating plateau' for one or more decades before declining slowly.
Having accurately predicted the date of peak production in the US petroleum industry, which occurred in 1970, M. King Hubbert, who devised the theory, forecast that the world peak would occur in 1995 'if current trends continue'. Various subsequent predictions have been made as trends have fluctuated in the intervening years. Two milestones have passed, however. The peak of world oilfield discoveries occurred in 1965 and, due world population growth, production per capita peaked in 1979.
The effects of peak oil could be mitigated through conservation and switching to alternative fuels or unconventional oil sources. Such changes would bring their own challenges, ranging from the need to development alternative technologies to potential increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
Selected image
Photo credit: United States Department of Energy
The fireball created as energy is released in a nuclear explosion.
Did you know?
- If atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations can be stabilized at 450 ppm, it is thought that there will be a 50% chance of avoiding dangerous climate change?
- The Itaipu hydroelectric power plant is currently the second largest power plant in the world, supplying over 90% of Paraguay's electricity, and 25% of Brazil's?
- Libya's Sirte Basin—which in some places lies more than 47 metres below sea level—contains roughly 80% of the country's known crude oil reserves?
- Approximately 95% of the electricity consumed by a normal incandescent light bulb (example pictured) is emitted as heat, rather than as visible light?
- Saudi Aramco is the largest oil corporation in the world and the world's largest in terms of proven crude oil reserves and production?
- Newcastle, Australia, is the world's largest coal export port?
- Surplus income from oil production in Norway is invested by the Government Pension Fund, one of the World's largest funds with a value of around US$ 800 billion?
- Energy superpowers Russia and Venezuela have, respectively, the world's largest reserves of natural gas and petroleum?
Selected biography
Fermi was well-known for his simplicity in solving problems. Whenever possible, he avoided complicated mathematics and obtained quick results based on order of magnitude estimates. Fermi also meticulously recorded his calculations in notebooks, and later used to solve many new problems that he encountered based on these earlier known problems.
After accepting the 1938 Nobel Prize in Stockholm, Fermi immigrated to New York with his family to escape the anti-Semitic laws of Fascist Italy, as his wife Laura was Jewish.
After working at Columbia University, Fermi went to the University of Chicago and began studies that led to the construction of the world's first nuclear reactor Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1). The first artificial, self-sustaining, nuclear chain reaction was initiated within CP-1, on December 2, 1942.
In the news
- 1 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia launches missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, injuring at least four people and damaging critical infrastructure, including energy facilities. Ukraine says that it shot down 35 of 53 missiles and 46 of 47 drones. (Reuters)
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Quotations
- "Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter." – Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss, 1954
- "There is every possibility that you will soon be able to tax it." – Michael Faraday, talking to William Gladstone on the future purpose of electricity.
- "Higher energy prices act like a tax. They reduce the disposable income people have available for other things after they've paid their energy bills." – John W. Snow, 2005
- "Our dependence on foreign energy is like a foreign tax on the American people." – George W. Bush, 2005
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