For all of the modern man’s time, our world has been slowly degrading with our use of crude oils and combustion. The expanding rate of our ecological footprint has been rapidly increasing year after year. Scientists proposed a solution to this problem by discovering new methods of renewable energy that comes with little to no environmental consequence. Whether it is powered by wind, solar rays, or water, we have found new processes that create usable electricity without the pollution and ozone damage that fossil fuels entail. Yet, one method of renewable and clean energy has been left in the dust, this method being thermoelectric power. Over thirty years ago, researchers were franticly exploring this uncharted method, and attempted to create a large variety of ways to utilize it properly. After they exhausted every theory, the field of thermodynamics was declared dead (Wu, 1997). It lie to collect dust and live to only a fraction of its potential. Now, it has been recently rediscovered, and the possibilities of this new source are endless.
In a society that uses such a vast variety of devices and appliances that create waste heat, it would only be practical to create a way to use this excess as energy. Researchers are meticulously working to use thermoelectricity in cars, refrigerators, and boilers, all with the power of excess heat. They envision a world that does not have excess, and in its place, has a recycling closed system. While some scientists are adamant about the wonders that thermoelectricity hold, others question its environmental integrity, and whether the efficiency is great enough to even bother implementing. But, the underlying question still exists, is
thermoelectricity a feasible alternative to energy fr...
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In conclusion to this investigation one thing is clear and that is that recycling reeks benefits to the environment, Recycling material when compared to making material from raw material is a more efficient energy saving and more environmentally friendly way to reuse material that is usually consider as trash such as empty glass, and plastic bottles, or old newspapers. Recycling helps reduce the possible carbon emissions greatly and does reduce the human carbon footprint. But Recycling doesn’t resolve the pollution that is around the world today. Leading to new questions, questions like what about the landfills are they sustainable, and if so for how long. How long until the air becomes unbreathable? How long until Earth becomes its own furnace?
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Fuel cells could create new markets for steel, electronics, electrical and control industries and other equipment suppliers. They could provide tens of thousands of high-quality jobs and reduce trade deficits.
One of the greatest accomplishments and innovations of human history thus far is the invention of the electric refrigerator. Such a simple concept has literally changed how the entire world stores food and has saved millions of lives in the process. Refrigeration as we know it has only been around since the 1930’s, and in less then a hundred years has been greatly taken for granted. Since the influence of electrical engineering in the modern refrigerator, refrigeration has gone from storing food in an ice cellar to being able to have two dedicating refrigeration units with controllable temperatures and even an ice machine attached. Without electricity modern refrigeration would be drastically different, using instead previous refrigeration
good emitter of heat radiation so a lot of heat will be lost to the
Quantum thermodynamic scientists are aiming to explore the behavior outside the lines of conventional thermodynamics. This exploration could be used for functional cases, which include “improving lab-based refrigeration techniques, creating batteries with enhanced capabilities and refining technology of quantum computing.” (Merali P.1). However, this field is still in an early state of exploration. Experiments, including the one that is being performed at Oxford University, are just beginning to test these predictions. “A flurry of attempts has been made to calculate how thermodynamics and the quantum theory might combine” (Merali P. 1). However, quantum physicist Peter Hänggi stated that “there is far too much theory and not enough experiment” (Merali P.1) in this field of study, which is why its credibility is undermined. Nevertheless, people are starting to put more effort into understanding quantum thermodynamics in order to make
The race for a sustainable efficient power source has been an ongoing problem for the world. Global users are now waking up to the facts that these will not sustain us forever as they have made a large human footprint upon the earth that we so desperately depend on. This race has resulted in a very positive effect on the global pursuit of greener more sustainable energy and has helped in developing new technologies. These technologies range from wind powered turbines, solar paneled power stations and harnessing and using the heat from the molten layer of rock below the surface called geo thermal energy. This article is going to be focusing on the renewable natural energy of geo thermal, from the history to what is geothermal energy, and even what the advantages and disadvantages are.
Based on Laurel Nesbit, a program assistant in the Office of Sustainability here at UF, our campus manages to utilize 470,000 Megawatts of energy annually. This figure is generated from all the energy-consuming gadgets that operate on our campus on a daily bases. These gadgets include computers that are left turned on over the night even they are not in use, copiers, and the fume hoods in our laboratories. Admittedly, the success and the health of wellbeing of the students is contingent upon some of these equipment. For instance, the laboratories need the fume hoods in order to keep the experimenters safe. Instead of casting these necessities away, we can develop alternatives which will be capable of generating energy in order to compensate for the electricity that we endlessly
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Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is the process of converting the ocean waters temperature difference at different depths into usable energy. From the solar heated upper depths of the ocean to the cooler depths below 2,000 feet a 40 degree temperature difference must be maintained to generate electricity. This is a relatively new and unheard of source of energy. Many people are not aware of the many benefits of OTEC and the impact it will have in the future as the use of fossil fuel conversion declines. Heightened environmental concerns in today's world makes OTEC an attractive alternative for energy conversion. The ocean offers a natural and renewable resource which will make it possible for converting energy this way to last for a very long, long time. OTEC is a very cost effective method of using the oceans waters for energy conversion but its use and benefits to society have been obscure to the general public. In the coming years OTEC will probably be at the forefront of new energy resources and a good understanding of it know will prove invaluable to power engineers of the future.
Before 20th century, most efforts were ineffective and people tried many things to provide the comfort of cool, till Leonardo Da Vince designed a mechanical fan and it was used in industrial settings. Then, an engineer named Stuart Cramer, he likes the idea of the latest system of controlling the heat and humidity and he improved it and called it “air conditioning” in 1906. One year later, air-conditioning equipment designed by Witten Meier was installed in movie theatres and hotels. And in 1927, General Electric introduces the first refrigerator to be mass-produced with a completely sealed refrigerating system and it was one of a kind. In 1927, these improvements continued to progress and engineers completed doing researches and they developed air-conditioning and refrigerating to consume a less amount of energy.
of energy and the potential threat of global warming, the change from fuel to electricity must
In thermodynamics Refrigeration is the major application area, in which the heat is transferred from a lower temperature region to a higher temperature region. The devices which produce refrigeration are known as Refrigerators and the cycle on which it operates are called refrigeration cycles. Vapour compression refrigeration cycle is the most regularly used refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is alternately vaporized and condensed and in the vapor phase it is compressed. Gas refrigeration cycle is the well-known refrigeration cycle in which cycle refrigerant remains in the gaseous phase throughout the cycle. Cascade refrigeration are the other refrigeration cycles discussed in this chapter; absorption refrigeration is the one more refrigeration cycle which is used where the refrigerant is dissolved in liquid before it is compressed. One more refrigeration in which refrigeration is produced by passing the electric current through two dissimilar materials is called as the thermoelectric refrigeration.
Over the past decades, geologists and scientists alike have determined that the Earth is running out of non-renewable resources, particularly those resources that provide us with energy that fuels our world’s economies, jobs, and most importantly our daily lives. Without this energy, whole countries can collapse, and the human race would struggle to survive. Therefore, it is safe to assume that we as a nation are entirely dependent on energy, or the ability to do work (Gale Science in Context). Consequently, we are now actively searching for more cost efficient and useful forms of energy to replace those we currently use. By doing this we will be helping the earth by reducing carbon emissions and cutting down on air and water pollutants. This may ultimately prolong the life of our planet, and save money and resources while doing so.