Physics: Energy, Climate, and Sustainability

Thinner walls

Insulation

Incandescent bulbs

Keeping doors open

1 J

2 J

4 J

0.5 J

Potential to Kinetic

Kinetic to Potential

Thermal to Chemical

Nuclear to Light

5 J

20 J

12 J

10 J

Elastic Potential Energy

Gravitational Potential Energy

Kinetic Energy

Nuclear Energy

9 J

4.5 J

2.25 J

18 J

1000 J

250 J

60,000 J

15,000 J

$400\text{ J}$

$1,100\text{ J}$

$1,500\text{ J}$

$1,900\text{ J}$

$2$

$4$

$8$

$16$

$31.3\text{ m/s}$

$32.9\text{ m/s}$

$1,081\text{ m/s}$

$25.4\text{ m/s}$

The useful energy only

The wasted energy only

The total energy input

The difference between useful and wasted energy

$25\%$

$50\%$

$75\%$

$100\%$

Are free to build

Produce little to no greenhouse gases during operation

Never break down

Provide more energy than fossil fuels

Useful heat in the water

Sound of the boiling water and heat lost to the air

The steam produced

The weight of the kettle

Generator Stage: $35\%$; Total Efficiency: $87.5\%$

Generator Stage: $12.5\%$; Total Efficiency: $35\%$

Generator Stage: $87.5\%$; Total Efficiency: $35\%$

Generator Stage: $87.5\%$; Total Efficiency: $65\%$

Light energy

Thermal energy

Kinetic energy

Sound energy

Add more weight to the frame.

Oil the chain to reduce friction.

Deflate the tires slightly.

Ride against the wind.

The $30\%$ efficient stove requires three times the primary energy input, leading to much higher $CO_2$ emissions per unit of useful heat.

The $90\%$ efficient heater creates more oxygen as a byproduct of efficiency.

The $30\%$ efficient stove creates 'cold' waste energy that harms the ozone layer.

Efficiency has no impact on the climate, only on the cost of the fuel.

40%

50%

34%

36%

20,000 J

980,000 J

2,000 J

50,000 J

Coal

Wind

Tides

Sunlight

Produce more greenhouse gases

Produce fewer greenhouse gases

Are more reliable in all weather

Are always more expensive to run

Wind

Hydroelectric

Solar Photovoltaic

Nuclear

To store electricity

To burn the fuel

To spin and turn the generator

To cool down the steam

The Kyoto Protocol

The Paris Agreement

The Montreal Protocol

The Geneva Convention

Waves do not contain enough energy to be useful.

The harsh saltwater environment makes equipment maintenance difficult and expensive.

Waves only occur during the daytime.

Wave energy produces high levels of carbon dioxide.

Trees reflect most of the sunlight back into space.

Removing trees reduces the amount of $CO_{2}$ absorbed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis.

Trees release large amounts of methane when they are alive.

Deforestation leads to more volcanic eruptions.

Only the $CO_2$ emitted while the power plant is running.

The energy used and emissions produced from mining, construction, operation, and decommissioning/recycling.

The total amount of money the energy company makes over $50$ years.

The number of years the energy source will last before it runs out.

Carbon Dioxide ($CO_2$)

Methane ($CH_4$)

Sulfate aerosols (from volcanic eruptions or industrial pollution)

Nitrous Oxide ($N_2O$)

When a country runs out of coal and oil.

A lack of access to modern energy services, which limits economic development and health.

The high cost of buying solar panels for a home.

When the sun does not shine for more than three days.

Burning more coal

Transitioning to renewable energy sources like wind and solar

Building more cars that use gasoline

Cutting down more forests

Natural gas

Oil

Coal

Nuclear fuel

Because the cities will run out of water

Because sea levels are rising due to melting ice and thermal expansion

Because the cities will become too cold

Because the oil will disappear

Particulate matter (soot)

Fresh water

Oxygen

Iron

Because the Sun is getting hotter every day

Because of the thermal 'inertia' of the oceans and the long life of $CO_2$ in the atmosphere

Because the Earth is moving closer to the Sun

Because the core of the Earth is releasing more heat

Anthracite

Lignite

Bituminous

Sub-bituminous

A decrease in the Earth's average temperature

The stabilization of the climate at a constant temperature

An acceleration of the warming process

A total stop in the production of greenhouse gases

Different surfaces (like ice vs. ocean) have different albedo and heat capacities.

The Sun only shines on the equator.

Greenhouse gases only gather over cities.

Gravity is stronger at the poles, pulling in more heat.

It creates new carbon that didn't exist before.

It shifts carbon from long-term underground reservoirs to the atmospheric reservoir.

It removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in the ocean permanently.

It has no effect on the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

Land subsidence (sinking) causing damage to infrastructure

An increase in the Earth's magnetic field

The formation of new coal deposits instantly

A decrease in the sea level due to ice absorption

They are made of wool

They block all sunlight from reaching the ground

They trap heat near the surface of the Earth

They keep the Earth from getting too much oxygen

It increases the amount of trash in landfills

It uses more energy than making new products

It reduces the need to extract new raw materials

It releases more greenhouse gases

Burning wood in a fireplace

Using a calculator with a small light-sensitive strip

Driving a diesel truck

Using a coal-powered heater

It absorbs more $CO_2$

It releases trapped greenhouse gases like methane

It creates more ice

It stops the greenhouse effect

The movement of carbon through the atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere.

The process of turning coal into diamonds.

The path a carbon atom takes when it is burned in an engine.

The one-way flow of carbon from the Sun to the Earth.

The strength of the wind during a storm.

An external factor that pushes the climate system to change (e.g., $CO_2$ concentration).

The amount of gravity acting on the atmosphere.

The speed at which tectonic plates move.

Renewables are too expensive to build.

Sources like solar and wind cannot provide a constant, steady supply of electricity without batteries.

Renewable energy is too powerful for the existing wires.

The government forbids using renewable energy at night.

0.4 Earths

2.0 Earths

2.5 Earths

5.0 Earths

The atmosphere getting thicker and pushing the Moon further away.

Ocean water taking up more volume as it warms, contributing to sea-level rise.

Railroad tracks shrinking in the summer due to heat.

The Earth's crust expanding and causing more earthquakes.

It is the energy absorbed by the water when it freezes into ice in the clouds.

It is the energy released into the atmosphere when water vapor condenses into liquid droplets, fueling the storm's intensity.

It is the heat that causes the ocean water to turn into salt.

It is the friction between the wind and the surface of the ocean.

Burying them in a landfill

Burning them for heat

Recycling the materials like glass and silicon

Throwing them into the ocean

It decreases

It stays exactly the same

It increases

It turns into a vacuum

It is too heavy

It requires high-pressure storage tanks

It is very common in the atmosphere as a gas

It produces too much noise

Transformer

Battery

Solar Panel

Light bulb

$190\text{ J}$

$200\text{ J}$

$144\text{ J}$

$800\text{ J}$

It is physically impossible to catch gas

High costs and the large amount of energy required to run the capture equipment

There is no room underground to store anything

Carbon dioxide is too light to be trapped

High-efficiency to low-efficiency systems

Linear 'take-make-waste' systems to circular and renewable systems

Electric cars back to horse-drawn carriages

Using the sun to using only coal

Methane leaking from cows.

Hydrogen leaking from pipes, which can indirectly increase the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere.

Oxygen leaking from fuel cells, causing too much plant growth.

Water vapor leaking from exhausts, causing constant rain.

Because the fuel is more expensive.

Because there is no nitrogen to act as a thermal diluent.

Because oxygen is naturally hotter than air.

To make the $CO_2$ turn into a liquid immediately.

They are radioactive and dangerous to the wind.

They are required for the powerful permanent magnets in the generators, and their mining has high environmental impacts.

They make the wind turbines too heavy to spin.

They are found only on the moon.

Solar energy

Tidal energy

Geothermal energy

Biomass energy

Is it right that some people have no electricity for hospitals?

What color should the solar panels be?

How fast can a turbine spin?

Can we use batteries to store power?

Materials and energy that leave the system (like waste or emissions)

The money spent on raw materials

The number of workers in the factory

The time it takes to make the product

Increasing the use of single-use plastics

Reducing energy consumption through efficiency

Cutting down all forests for firewood

Building more gas-guzzling cars

To ensure that every person has access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy

To make sure developed nations use as much energy as possible

To stop all energy production in developing countries

To keep energy prices as high as possible

It is all blocked by the ozone layer

Most of it passes through the atmosphere to be absorbed by the Earth's surface

It is converted into $CO_2$ instantly

It is reflected entirely by greenhouse gases

Putting the battery in a standard trash bin

Establishing a specialized recycling program to recover and reuse minerals

Burning the battery to recover heat

Buying a new battery every year

It solves the problem of intermittency, allowing 100% renewable grids and providing reliable power to remote areas

It is a mythical technology that scientists believe can never actually be built

It allows energy to be kept in a box forever without any loss of heat or power

It makes electricity free for everyone by removing the need for power plants

The energy used for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering appliances during the building's occupied life

The energy used by the cranes and bulldozers during the construction of the building

The energy contained within the bricks and wood used to make the walls

The energy required to knock the building down at the end of 50 years

GDP does not account for the distribution of wealth or the environmental degradation caused by energy production

GDP only measures the amount of gold a country has, not its electricity

GDP is calculated in dollars, but energy is measured in Joules, so they cannot be compared

GDP automatically decreases when a country switches to renewable energy