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8.1 Energy sources

Primary and secondary energy sources
A ​primary source ​is one that has not been transformed or converted for use by the consumer. Eg: fossil
fuels are burnt directly in a furnace.

A ​secondary source is one that results from the transformation of a primary source. Eg: the electricity
we use in our devices is generated from the conversion of a primary source of energy

Renewable and non-renewable energy sources

Primary sources can be further classified into renewable and non-renewable sources. Renewable sources
such as biomass can be replenished in a relatively short time. However, fossil fuels take millions of years
to form and are considered non-renewable. Sources are classified as renewable or non-renewable based
on the rate at which they are used and replenished.

Types of energy sources

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Energy sources

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Source Energy form

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Nuclear fuels Uranium-235 Nuclear
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Crude oil
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Non-renewable
sources
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Fossil fuel Coal Chemical potential

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Natural gas
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Sun Radiant (solar)

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Wind Kinetic
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Renewable source
Water Kinetic

Biomass Chemical potential

Geothermal Internal

Specific energy and energy density

Specific energy​ indicates the number of joules that can be released by each kg of the fuel.
Energy density i​ s the number of joules that can be released from 1m​3​ of the fuel
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The function of thermal power stations

Primary sources are converted to secondary sources at thermal power stations. Once primary energy has
been converted to internal energy, all thermal stations use the same approach to convert internal energy
to electrical energy. The energy is used to heat water, producing steam at high temperatures. The steam
is directed towards turbines, which rotate in a magnetic field (ac generator). This generates electricity
(covered in topic 11)

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Sankey diagrams
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The ​Sankey diagram is a visual representation of the flow of energy in a device or a process. There are
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some rules to remember when drawing these:

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● Each energy source and loss in the process is represented by an arrow

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● Diagrams are drawn to scale with the width of an arrow ∝ the amount of energy it represents
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● Energy flow is drawn from left to right

● When energy is lost from the system it moves to the top or bottom of the diagram
● Power transfers, as well as energy flows, can be represented
Below is an example Sankey diagram:
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Use of primary sources in energy stations

Fossil fuels
● Fossil fuels are burnt to heat water, and then the generation process above generates energy
● Disadvantages of fossil fuels include
○ They take a very long time to form
○ Large amounts of CO​2​ are released upon consumption
○ Transportation problems

Nuclear fuel
● Uranium-235 is used in thermal fission reactors
● Fuel needs to have the correct balance of U-235: U-238. This is because the U-235 can absorb
neutrons. Fuel with boosted proportions of U-235 is said to be ​enriched​.
● Uranium is molded into rods that are inserted in the core of the reactor
● During fission, neutrons are released at high speeds, but they need to be moving with smaller
kinetic energy to sustain the reaction. Neutrons with the typical speeds required are known as

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thermal neutrons
● Am ​ oderator​ is used to remove energy from neutrons - these are made of graphite

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● Control rods can be used to regulate the power output from the reactor by being raised and

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lowered into the core- these are made of boron or other elements that absorb neutrons well
● Ah ​ eat exchanger​ conveys the internal energy in the reactor to the turbines
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Safety issues with nuclear power include:

● The reactor vessel is made of thick steel to withstand high temperature and pressure. This also
absorbs the alpha and beta radiation
● Layers of concrete around the vessel absorb gamma radiation
● Emergency mechanisms shut down the reactor in case of accidents
● Fuel rods are inserted by robots so that humans do not come in contact with spent rods
● Disposal of radioactive waste is a problem - spent rods and reactors need to encased in concrete
for at least a century to decay
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Wind power
● Two types: vertical axis and the horizontal axis
● The maximum theoretical kinetic energy arriving at the turbine every second is: 0​ .5⍴πr​2​v​3
● This equation has several limitations and assumptions:
○ It assumes that all the kinetic energy of the wind can be used
○ Other turbines nearby disturb the flow of air, so there is a reduction of energy
○ Based on the equation, a longer blade = higher yield, but a long blade would mean more
mass, so the turbine wouldn’t rotate at low speeds

Advantages and disadvantages of wind power

Advantages Disadvantages

No energy costs Variable output

No chemical pollution Site availability is limited in some countries
High capital costs; economies of scale may help Noise and visual pollution

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Easy to maintain on land, but not offshore Impact of aerial wildlife

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Pumped storage

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Water can be used as a primary source in the following ways:
● Pumped storage plants
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● Hydroelectric plants
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● Tidal Barrage
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● Tidal flow systems

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● Wave energy
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GPE of water held at a level above a reservoir is converted to electrical energy as the water falls to the
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lower level (Used in hydro, pumped storage, and tidal barrages). KE of moving water is transferred to
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electrical energy as water flows or waves move (used in tidal flow or wave systems). To raise profits,
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pumping of water occurs at a time when energy demand is low (and so, costs).

Solar power
Solar heating panels use the Sun’s energy to heat
water:

There are two types of solar power systems:

● Solar heating panels convert sunlight
directly into heat energy, which is used to
heat water, and the steam turns a turbine
(generator)
● Photovoltaic cells directly convert sunlight
to electricity
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8.2 Thermal energy transfer

In ​conduction​, energy flows through the bulk of the material without any large-scale relative
movements of the atoms that make up the solid. Two mechanisms contribute to conduction:
● Atomic vibrations
○ Atoms vibrate in their fixed positions. In a bar, for example, at the hot end atoms vibrate
at higher speed and higher amplitude as they possess more vibrational energy. At the
cold end, atoms vibrate a lot less. On vibrating, atoms collide with neighboring particles
and transfer energy from one end to the other, until energy distribution is uniform
across the bar. Conduction can also occur in liquids and gases, but is less important, as
interatomic connections are weaker

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● Free electrons​ within the structure of the solid can transfer heat energy across the material
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Convection is the movement of groups of atoms or molecules within fluids that arises through
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variations in density.
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When the air above ground, or at liquid at the bottom of a beaker is warm, molecules move further away
from each other due to their greater KE, and so density decreases (as volume has increased with constant
mass). As such, the less dense warm fluid rises, and denser cool fluid replaces it.

Thermal radiation
Thermal radiation is the transfer of energy through EM radiation.

Black body radiation

● An object that absorbs all radiation at all wavelengths
● The radiation emitted by a black body is black body radiation

The emission spectrum from a black body

A ​spectrometer measures the intensity of radiation at a particular wavelength. Intensity is the power
emitted per square meter (Units: W m​-2​ or J s​-​ m​-2​):
P
I=

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A
Shown below is a typical intensity-wavelength graph for a black body at the temperature on the surface

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of the sun. The sun is considered a near-perfect black-body radiator.

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The graph shows how the relative intensity varies with the wavelength at which intensity is measured.
There are several features to this graph:
● There is a peak value at 500nm (somewhere between green and blue light to our eyes)
● There are significant radiations at all visible wavelengths
● Steep rise from zero intensity - the line does not go through the origin
● At large wavelengths beyond the peak, intensity approaches zero asymptotically

As temperature increases:
● The intensity at each wavelength increases
● The total power emitted per square meter increases
● The curve skews towards lower wavelengths
● The peak of the curve moves to a shorter wavelength
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Wien’s displacement law ​links the maximum wavelength to the temperature:

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Stefan-Boltzmann Law
Scientists derived an equation that predicts the total power radiated from a black body at a particular
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temperature. The law applies across all the wavelengths that are radiated by the body. The law states that
the total power P radiated by a black body is given by:
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P = σAT​4
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σ = 5.67 x 10​-8​ W m​-2​ K​-4​. Also, A is the SURFACE AREA of a SPHERE 4πr​2
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Grey bodies and emissivity

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Objects’ behavior can be very close to that of a black body but not 100%. They are called ​grey objects​. A
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grey object will emit less energy per second than a black body. ​Emissivity ​is a measure of the ratio
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between these two powers:

For a real material, the Power can be calculated using the following equation;
P = eσAT​4
Perfect black bodies have an emissivity of 1. An object that reflects all radiation with no absorption has
an emissivity of 0.

The A in the equation = 4πr​2​, where r is the radius of the black body radiator. Do not confuse this A with
the A in the intensity equation (I=P/A), where A = 4πd​2​, with d being the distance between the emitter
and the receiving end.
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Sun and the solar constant

The amount of energy that falls per second (power) on an area of 1m​2​, above
the earth’s atmosphere at right angles to the sun’s rays, is known as the ​solar
constant​. The accepted value for the constant is 1380 Wm​-2​.

The value for the constant can vary due to:

● The varying output of the sun
● Earth’s elliptical orbit (not same distance away)

Energy balance in the Earth Surface

As the radiation from the Sun enters and travels through the atmosphere, it is subject to losses that
reduce the energy arriving at the Earth’s surface. Radiation is absorbed and also scattered by the

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atmosphere. The degree to which this absorption and scattering occur depends on the position of the
Sun in the sky at a particular place. The extent to which a surface can reflect energy is known as its

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albedo​. Its value can range from 0 to 1. Albedo depends on the color, material, and texture of the surface

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and the path through which energy passes. Earth has an emissivity of 0.3 (70% absorption).
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The greenhouse effect and temperature balance

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Gases such as Methane, Water Vapour, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone, CFC. Each of these
gases absorbs IR radiation at different wavelengths, which causes the temperature to rise.
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The radiation coming from the sun is approximately 50% visible light and 50% infrared, with small
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amounts of UV light present. When UV light enters the atmosphere from the sun, it is reflected from the
earth at a lower frequency. The light, now Infrared, is no longer able to penetrate the gaseous layer in the
troposphere and becomes 'trapped'. This causes an overall increase in global temperature, which leads to
the melting of arctic permafrost, climate change, and more frequent natural disasters.

High-frequency light (UV) is energetic and able to break bonds within molecules. Infrared light, on the
other hand, causes atoms to vibrate. The greenhouse gases have a natural frequency that falls in the
infrared region, so when they are hit by infrared light, they begin to resonate, creating a change in
molecular dipole moment. They absorb the infrared radiation and “re-radiate” it in all directions, some
of which returns to the earth.