INTRODUCTION OF SOURCES OF ENERGY : Essay - Sources of Energy One of our basic needs is food. It supplies the energy required by our body. The Sources of Energy from the food maintains our body
temperature. The energy is also utilized in the large number of processes
taking place in the body. The energy enables us to walk, to run and to carry
out different type of work. The major sources of energy in our daily life are the
sun, wind, various fuels, electricity & nuclear. The sun is our main source of energy. Light from the sun
is captured by the plants through photosynthesis. The sun's energy is
converted into chemical energy & stored in various parts of the plant. In
this process carbondioxide and water are converted into carbohydrates. Thus,
the source of energy for our food is the sun. The animal cannot make their
own food. They depend on plants for the food. The carnivorous animals eat
other animals. But, ultimately the primary source of all food is plants. Sunlight contains infra-red radiations in large
proportion and these infra-red rays heat all objects on which they fall.
Traditionally solar energy is used for drying clothes, drying fruits and
vegetables, reducing moisture content in grains and making salt from sea
water. But, not we are trapping solar energy to convert it into thermal &
electrical energy. The conversions takes place mainly by solar thermal
pathways and through photovoltaic conversions. Solar energy is used in devices such as : 1. Solar Cookers - for cooking. 2. Solar water heaters - for eating. 3. Solar cells - to produce electricity. It is also used
to operate watches, calculators space satellites etc. 4. Solar Dryers - for drying clothes & for drying fruits
& vegetables. 5. Solar Energy is also used for community lighting
pumping of water for small irrigation and drinking purposes.
Wind energy is the energy possessed by moving air or wind
by the virtue of its kinetic energy, due to its motion. Wind power is
converted into mechanical and electrical energy. The wind energy can be
utilized to : (i) Sail Boats. (ii) Flight Gliders. (iii) Lift Water from the Wells. (iv) Run Wind Mills. (v) Produce electricity by using wind turbines in remote
areas, where plenty of wind energy is available. In our day-to-day life the most important energy sources
are fuels. Fuels are a concentrated store of energy. Most of the fuels are
compounds of carbon. Fuels on burning gives heat and light. The commonly
used fuels in our country are coal, petroleum natural gas. Coal is main source of energy. Coal is a complex mixture
of compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and some free carbon. Small
amount of nitrogen and sulphur compounds are also present in coal. It is found in deep coal mines water the surface of
earth. Some of the major coal-producing countries of the world are : China,
America, England, Germany, Poland, Australia and India. In India coal is
mainly found in Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Coal is found
in abundance in our country and it is the most important source of energy in
our country. Coal provides about 67% of energy needs in our country. Due to
this, coal is regarded as the back-bone of the energy sector of our national
economy. (i) Coal is used as a fuel in households, thermal power
plants and in industry. (ii) Coal is used in manufacture of fuel gases like coal
gas. (iii) Coal is used in the manufacture of synthetic
natural gas and synthetic petrol. Petroleum is a dark coloured, viscous and foul smelling
crude oil. The name petroleum means rock oil. The crude oil petroleum is a
complex mixture of several solid, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons mixed with
water, salt and earth particles. The remains of plants and animals are mostly made of
carbon compounds. Carbon compounds burn to give energy. Wood, agricultural
waste and animal dung are used as energy sources. In the absence of air, a
suspension of plant and animal material in water decomposes to give methane
& carbondioxides. This mixture of gases in known as Biogas. Several lakh
bio-gas plants have been setup in India. Wood, agricultural waste and animal dung cakes are burned
in open chulhas. Most of the heat generated by burning these fuels in lost
to the environment. Only about 6 percent heat in utilized in cooking. In
contrast, a biogas stove is much more efficient. Modern smokeless chulhas
have been designed. These burnless fuel & utilize the heat more efficiently.
Thus fuel is saved. Better design of energy conversion appliances is a way
of saving fuels. (i) Biogas is an excellent fuel for cooking. (ii) It can also be used for street lighting and for
running engines. (iii) The slurry residue after removal of biogas is a
good source of manure for plants. Electricity is another form of energy source. It is used
to light our homes. Fans, refrigeratory, air-conditioners and other
household appliances own on electricity. Electricity is generated in a power station. The basic
principle is that if a conducting wire is moved in a magnetic field an
electric current is generated in the wire. In the power stations,
electromagnets attached to a turbine are rotated inside a coil of wire. The
energy for the rotation turbine is provided by steam or by flowing water. In
a thermal power station, the steam is generated by heating water with fuels
such as coal, fuel oil or natural gas. On the other hand, in a hydroelectric
power station, the flowing water is made available from a dam. Electricity in a very convenient sauces of energy. It can
be easily transported through wires of copper and aluminium. Electrical
energy can be easily converted into mechanical, heat, light or chemical
energy. The nuclear energy is the energy stored in the nucleus of
atoms. When nucleus of an atom splits, it gives out large quantities of
energy. Only a few elements. Undergo such rotations. Uranium atom on
absorbing neurons be come unstable and split into nuclear of smaller
elements. During this process a few neutrons are released. These neutrons
split other nuclei of the uranium. This reaction continues rapidly and is
known as chain reaction. Such a reaction takes place in an atom bomb. The
energy production in the sun is due to a nuclear reaction known as fusion.
The hydrogen atoms join to form helium atom at very high temperature in the
core of the sun. Attempts are being made to use nuclear energy as a source
of energy. Natural gas consists mainly of methane (CH4)
with small quantities of ethane and propane. Natural gas is formed under the
earth by decomposition of vegetable matter lying under water. This
decomposition is carried out by anaerobic bacteria in the absence of oxygen.
1. Natural gas is used as a domestic and industrial fuel.
2. These days natural gas is being used as a fuel in
automobiles in place of petrol and diesel. 3. Natural gas is used for the manufacture of hydrogen
gas. 4. Natural gas is used as a source of carbon needed in
type industry. Petroleum gas is a mixture of three hydrocarbons, butane,
propane and ethane. The main constituent of petroleum gas is however,
butane. Butane, propane an ethane, all burn readily, producing a lot of
heat. This makes petroleum gas a very good fuel. The petroleum gas which has
been liquefied petroleum gas. L.P.G. is used as a fuel for domestic heating purposes.
L.P.G. is considered a good fuel because of the following reasons : 1. L.P.G. produces a lot of heat on burning. 2. One gram of L.P.G. produces about 50 kilojoules of
heat energy on burning. 3. L.P.G. does not produce any smoke while burning, so it
does not cause air pollution. 4. L.P.G. does not produce any poisonous gases on
burning. 5. L.P.G. burns completely without leaving behind any
residue. Bibliography
SOURCES OF ENERGY
(I)THE SUN (SOLAR ENERGY) :
(II) WIND (WIND ENERGY) :
(III) FUELS :
COAL :
USES OF COAL :
PETROLEUM :
BIO GAS :
USES OF BIOGAS :
ELECTRICITY :
NUCLEAR ENERGY :
NATURAL GAS :
USES OF NATURAL GAS :
PETROLEUM GAS :
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