Portal:Energy
Main page | New articles & Tasks |
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.
|
Page contents: Selected article • Selected image • Selected biography • Did you know? • General images • Quotations • Related portals • Wikiprojects • Major topics • Categories • Help • Associated Wikimedia |
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
Nuclear (fission) power stations, provided 11% of the world's electricity in 2012, somewhat less than that generated by hydro-electric stations at 16%. Nuclear energy policy differs between countries, and some countries have no active nuclear power stations, or have phased them out. The first nuclear generated electricity, used to power four 200-watt light bulbs, was produced at the EBR-I reactor near Arco, Idaho, in 1951. This was followed in 1954 by the first grid-connected plant (in the USSR), and in 1956 by the first commercial plant (in the United Kingdom).
During the last decades of the 20th century, concerns about nuclear waste, nuclear accidents, radiation and nuclear proliferation led to an anti-nuclear movement. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and the 2011 Fukushima disaster also played a part in stopping new plants in many countries, while the economics of nuclear generation and of nuclear decommissioning have also been factors. Despite this, some countries including China and India have continued to remain active in developing nuclear power, Germany will close its 19 nuclear plants by 2020, and is investing heavily in renewable energy commercialization instead.
Selected image
Photo credit: From an image by Arnold Paul
Coal-fired power stations transform chemical energy into 36%-48% electricity and 52%-64% waste heat.
Did you know?
- Samuel Andrews (1836–1904) was an English-born chemist and inventor whose request for investment capital to build an oil refinery in 1862 led to a partnership with John D. Rockefeller and the formation of the Standard Oil companies?
- Golar Spirit (pictured) is the world's first floating storage and regasification vessel converted from a LNG carrier?
- The Rockies Express Pipeline, currently under construction, will be one of the largest natural gas pipelines ever built in North America?
- Syncrude Canada Ltd. is the world's largest producer of synthetic crude oil from oil sands?
- During World War II, Australia produced almost 500,000 barrels of shale oil by operating the Nevada–Texas–Utah type of oil-shale retorts?
- The Sangtuda 1 Hydroelectric Power Plant is expected to provide up to 12% of the total energy output of Tajikistan?
Selected biography
Edison invented the first commercially practical electric light bulb which, by 1879 would burn for hundreds of hours. He was able to sell the concept to homes and businesses by mass-producing them and creating a complete system for the generation and distribution of electricity.
Edison patented an electric distribution system in 1880, and in January 1882 he switched on the first steam generating power station at Holborn Viaduct in London, UK. The direct current (DC) supply system provided electricity supplies to street lamps and a number of private dwellings within a short distance of the station. The first investor-owned electric utility, Pearl Street Station, New York City, started generating on September 4, 1882, providing 110 volts direct current to 59 customers in lower Manhattan.
Life magazine (USA), in a special double issue, placed Edison first in the list of the "100 Most Important People in the Last 1000 Years," noting that the light bulb he promoted "lit up the world." He was ranked thirty-fifth on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history.
General images
Quotations
- "My administration is committed to a leadership role on the issue of climate change. We recognize our responsibility and will meet it - at home, in our hemisphere, and in the world." – George W. Bush, 2001
- "While the Kyoto Protocol is a crucial step forward, that step is far too small. And as we consider how to go further still, there remains a frightening lack of leadership." – Kofi Annan, 2006
- "It is going to be very difficult to keep temperature increases down to between 2 and 3 degrees centigrade [3.6 - 5.4°F]. We should work very hard to do that." – Nicholas Stern, 2006
- "Halting global warming requires urgent, unprecedented international cooperation, but the needed actions are feasible and have additional benefits for human health, agriculture and the environment." – James E. Hansen, 2004
Related portals
WikiProjects
WikiProjects connected with energy:
Other WikiProjects that may be of interest:
Major topics
Major categories
National energy supply, use & conservation
National electricity sector
Politics, economics, environment
- Climate change
- Energy conservation
- Energy economics
- Energy crises
- Energy development
- Energy policy
- Peak oil
Energy sources
- Fuels
- Biofuels
- Fossil fuels
- Fusion power
- Nuclear technology
- Renewable energy
- Energy conversion
- Electric power
- Energy storage
Energy-related design
Scientific usage
Category browser
Help
Puzzled by energy?
Can't answer your question?
Don't understand the answer?
- Ask at the reference desk
- Read the Wikipedia help pages
For further ideas, to leave a comment, or to learn how you can help improve and update this portal, see the talk page.
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus