Lucy Taylor

With increasing carbon emissions within society, the pursuit to utilise alternative energy sources is rapidly increasing. Geothermal energy provides a range of benefits opposed to the costly option of fossil fuel burning to generate electricity. Geothermal energy, fundamentally, harnesses the abundance of heat energy from beneath the Earth’s surface. By elaborating on the physics of the functioning of geothermal systems; the energy transferred from the steam itself and magnetic induction, in addition to the contribution of primordial heat and radioactive decay of geothermal energy, it will become clear of its potential.

Despite the initial expenses, the design of geothermal systems plays a crucial role in determining the productivity of this energy. Essentially, naturally heated water is pumped up from kilometres beneath the Earth’s surface. When this reaches the surface, the water vaporises as a result of the reduced pressure. Water does this because beneath the Earth, where more pressure is present, the boiling point increases. This is due to the fact when water boils, the molecules are not as tightly packed, hence the gaseous state. The pressure acts to keep the water molecules beneath the Earth more densely packed; therefore the matter remains in the liquid state. Consequently, the water vaporises when the pressure is lesser at the Earth’s surface. The endothermic change in enthalpy means the steam attains heat energy from its surroundings. The higher the enthalpy, the higher combination of pressure and internal energy, resulting in higher potential energy. The force causes the turbine to do work and due to the shape of the blades of the turbine the force will always be more on the upper-side of the blade, allowing motion o...

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...ies. As radioactive decaying occurs, heat energy is released, providing an ample source of heat to be utilised for geothermal power.

In modern society, the prospects of energy are ever increasing. The principles of geothermal energy mirror other renewable energies, but provide a whole spectrum of benefits due to the physics behind the systems. Geothermal energy stipulates a range of pros and cons, but with such availability, extracting the Earth’s heat energy with minimal proposed risks act as the greatest benefit when discussing alternative energy sources. Unlike fossil fuel burning, geothermal is widely accepted as a clean energy. Energy sources such as nuclear power demonstrate many health risks and those exhibited by geothermal are minimal in comparison. Therefore, geothermal energy illustrates the potential to become a leading source of energy within society.