Okay so today I am reviewing chapter five of Michio Kaku's Physics of the Future(ISBN 978-0-385-53080-4), and the topic is Future of Energy. There are many types of energies constantly being discovered, used and developed. At first there were only nonrenewable resources like coal and oil which polluted the environment. Then renewable resources like Solar Energy, and Wind Power were discovered. Many different sources of energies are being discovered to keep the human population always in constant supply of energy. Human need more energy than ever as time progesses. In the times before engines, railroads, and the discovery of oil, there were only 3 major sources of energy. Horsepower, wind and coal. Horse power meant animals or our feet, or cart driven vehicles that took us places. Coal gave us fire, warmth, and means of cooking. Wind powered our sails and our windmills which started factories, and to replace wind in some places they used water wheels. After engines were discovered, electricity, and solar power came. Overuse of nonrenewable resources made oil prices high. This forced us to go for alternative energy sources. Solar energy utilizes the power of the sun for electricity. It produces very little or no waste. This is useful in deserts, and the equator. This works by having light photons kick out an electron onto the panel, which produces electricity. The most common material used in solar cells is selenium because it is not a metal or a metalloid, but rather just is a non-metal with special properties. Solar power can work in the roof of your house or on the roof of a car, either way providing you with electric energy.
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Solar power can power cars. So can electricity. Hybrid cars use electrical batteries with a gas powered car to power a car. This is also as useful as fully electrical cars. Nuclear energy is another source of energy. This source of energy splits atoms to create massive amounts of energy. It is renewable but the factory it is being made in must be cooled after the process or else it will explode, sending highly reactive particles in the air. It produces too much waste, another problem. Nuclear energy is also used to make atomic bombs. One common Branch of nuclear energy is fusion power. This involves the splitting of uranium atoms. In the sun fusion power turns 2 hydrogen molecules into helium to creat energy. Magnetism will provide electricity in the future. Many energies will be discovered but it will take a while for it to be completely implemented.
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