Energy transfers that take place during this demonstration are chemical energy that is followed by heat energy because of the water heating up which then followed by kinetic energy – the energy in moving objects,. The wasted energy in this demonstration is light – also called radiant energy, as we did not need light so was useless.This demonstration has an efficient energy transfer – achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense, as not a lot of light energy was lost to the surroundings and the rest of the energies present in this demonstration were used usefully. In the same way, in industry, they use this method but with coal which is called fossil fuels. About 3/4 of the electricity which is generated in the UK comes from fossil fuels. Chemical energy is stored in coal.
This energy is transferred as heat and stored in water as steam. Steam is transferred to move the turbine and finally to electrical energy.First, fuel is burned to boil water to make steam, then steam makes a turbine spin and spinning turbine turns a generator which produces electricity, finally, electricity goes to the transformers to produce the correct voltage. The National grid uses power lines to connect power stations to homes, factories, offices and farms.This type of energy conversion is not efficient – achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense, as more energy is lost than transformed into electricity. Also, fossil fuels produce CO2 which is a greenhouse gas and increase global warming.
Fossil fuels using coal are only 35% efficient which is not a very good result, therefore fossil fuels are not efficient.References:http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/http://www.mpoweruk.
com/fossil_fuels.htmDemonstration 2: solar cellEnergy transfers that take place during this demonstration are the electrical energy that is changed to light energy which goes through electrical cables this then make the solar cell active which produces electricity. The energy from the solar panel (produced by the sun) powers up the fan which will then be able to turn producing kinetic energy. The wasted energies in this demonstration are sound and heat as the sound was not used and useful in this demonstration, concerning the heat, it only made the lamp hot – which was a risk, and is not useful.This demonstration has an efficient energy transfer – achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense, because less heat was lost to surroundings than used which makes it more efficient. In the same way, in industry solar cells have a low maintenance and provides cost-effective power supplies for people remote from the main electricity grid. Solar cells are non-polluting, renewable and sustainable power – which reduces global warming.
Solar energy uses sunlight to create photovoltaic power (PV) or concentrated solar power (CSP) for solar heating. This energy conversion allows solar to be used to power many things such as lights, pools, heaters etc. We use this energy conversion in industry as we use solar cells to generate electricity for many things, such as houses and factories. In this case, solar cells are a big advantage as you can use your electricity for free and this lead to a decrease on your bills.
In factories, solar cells convert 22% of their available energy into electrical power, however, in houses, solar cells only convert 14% of the energy that reaches them to convert it to electricity.References:http://education.seattlepi.com/main-uses-solar-cells-3343.htmlhttps://www.
thespruce.com/top-solar-energy-uses-1152263http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/power/2-how-efficient-are-solar-panels.
html Demonstration 3: wind turbineEnergy transfers that take place during this demonstration are the electrical energy that is followed by kinetic energy as the fan blows into the small turbine which is turned to produce electricity to power the light bulb. The wasted energies are sound and heat, because the sound from the fan is not used in any ways in this demonstration, and heat for the same reason.Industries use the same type of energy conversion but in a ‘bigger version’ using the wind and not a fan. Wind turbines have massive blades.
The blades are connected to a nacelle that contains gears linked to a generator. As the wind blows, it transfers kinetic energy to the blades which turn and drive the generator. When several wind turbines are grouped together in windy locations it forms wind farms. Wind is a renewable energy resource and no polluting gases are produced.Similarly to solar cells, this type of energy conversion is free and decrease the cost of your bills as you do not have to pay for electricity the wind is a natural source.This type of energy conversion is efficient as wind turbines convert around 45% of the wind passing through the blades into electricity. However, the amount of electricity generated depends on the strength of the wind.
If there is no wind, there is no electricity.
