Image: Christian Flemming / Discoveries
Developed nations today are so dependent on fossil fuels that it is easy to forget that energy sources have changed throughout history. We first started by burning wood and other organic matter, then added in whale oil. During the Industrial Revolution, we embraced coal and petroleum in a big way. Fossil fuels now sustain much of the global economy, but at a high cost to the environment and climate. The push is on to find energy sources less harmful to life on Earth.
An exhibition, "Discoveries 2010: Energy," opened May 20 on the island of Mainau in Germany to chart the course of human energy use and showcase future methods for sustainable energy production. The show is part of "Science Year 2010—The Future of Energy," initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and jointly organized by the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.
View a side show of images from Discoveries 2010: Energy
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8 Comments
Add CommentWhat Alexandre E. Becquerel actually discovered in 1839 was the "photovoltaic effect", which is used by modern photovoltaic cells. This is similar to but none the less different from the "photoelectric effect" referenced in the article which was discovered by Heinrich Hertz in 1887.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Hyperstig", good luck with that, and I think you have talked yourself into a circle.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow I know God's name, and he shall be called Hyperstig. How did he get past the 2,573 character limit to post such a universe changing discourse? He is Hyperstig, God incarnate. Thanks for saving the universe, 'H', may I call you H, because Hyperstig just doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as H. Wait, I see the eternity now, H is the variable in quantum mechanics that stands for Plank's constant. Oops, that would be lower case, h. Oh well, maybe I'll get it someday.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLooks very simplistic, but covers most of the basics. Did not include LFTRs. Liquid Flouride Thorium Reactors run on cheap readily available thorium, have no long term radio-active waste product and have been run for 5 years at ORNL in the late 1960s. This promising power source was abandoned because it wasn't suitable to make bombs. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUeBSoEnRk
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo mention of conventional nuclear reactors. In terms of future the ideal is LFTRs. A Liquid Flouride Thorium Reactor was run for 5 years by Oak Ridge National Laboratories in the 1960s. Inherently safe runs on cheap readily available non-enriched thorium and has no long term radio-active waste. Abandoned because it was unsuitable to make bombs. See:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWUeBSoEnRk
@ tickhead: hahahahahahahaha!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are foibles in all of us. There are even Physics Foibles. Entropy is one of them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInside a warm damp cave, completely sealed off from the outside world, will life survive?
Answer: No life forms could flourish indefinitely.
In an isolated system, entropy always increases. Life tries to push entropy in the opposite direction. When life is created, entropy decreases in the cave but nature demands a greater entropy increase offset.
The cave, being sealed, would mean that entropy would reach its max, thus energy necessary to sustain and generate new life would be unavailable.
Maybe we should learn a lesson from this. Available energy is mandatory. Wealth may equate to available energy. If you want to live in a nation that is prospering, make sure that its available energy supply is abundant. Dont overuse it. Protect the environment.
The oil spill should not be used as a political football!!
There are foibles in all of us. There are even Physics Foibles. Entropy is one of them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInside a warm damp cave, completely sealed off from the outside world, will life survive?
Answer: No life forms could flourish indefinitely.
In an isolated system, entropy always increases. Life tries to push entropy in the opposite direction. When life is created, entropy decreases in the cave but nature demands a greater entropy increase offset.
The cave, being sealed, would mean that entropy would reach its max, thus energy necessary to sustain and generate new life would be unavailable.
Maybe we should learn a lesson from this. Available energy is mandatory. Wealth may equate to available energy. If you want to live in a nation that is prospering, make sure that its available energy supply is abundant. Dont overuse it. Protect the environment.
The oil spill should not be used as a political football!!