Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be converted and since early times energy conversion has been occurring every day. Energy conversion is the procedure by which one form of energy converts into another. For instance, every organism converts chemical energy from the food that it receives into mechanical and/or thermal energy that supports its body in order to stay alive.
Energy conversion is extremely important in our society. Today, it is used by people to make our lives easier. We have found ways to keep warm, create artificial light and stay entertained using energy conversion. In this assignment, I will discuss the energy conversion used in the steam engine and describe how it interacts with social and environmental factors.
There are many ways energy conversion is used by people in order to solve problems. For instance, the light bulb is a human invention that generates artificial light. To work, electrical energy is converted into light and heat energy. The invention of light bulbs was a huge breakthrough in science and made our lives easier. Another energy conversion that is used by humans to solve problems is the energy conversion that happens in the solar panel. The solar panel is an invention that converts sunlight (light) to electricity, creating renewable energy. Solar energy is becoming even more popular nowadays as people look to renewable energy as a way to protect our planet. The third example of energy conversions used to solve problems is the energy conversion used in the steam engine. The steam engine converts thermal energy to mechanical energy. It has a large variety of uses ever since its invention in the late 18th century. It can be used for stationary applications, (e.g. winding engin...
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...acted by the pollution that the steam engine produced due to carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Cities became dominated by polluted rivers and smoke-filled air, which in turn created poor living and working conditions.
Today, countries like China have pollution problems and poor living conditions, including poor air quality. All these date back to the invention of the steam locomotive. Even today its direct and indirect effects are seen.
In conclusion, energy conversion is very important in our society. The way it is used by humans has both positive and negative aspects but overall, it has been an important factor in the way we live. I talked about the steam engine which, although it is not widely used today, was the first step in the major industrialisation of society. Therefore, it has been important both in science and in the advancement of society.
In relation to society and environment today, the steam engine and coal production has caused large negative effects. The worldwide producer of energy, coal, has caused the air supply to lack the amount of oxygen our bodies need, due to the releasing of carbon into the air. The high amounts of air pollution have resulted in many deaths and contractions of lung diseases. The deadly fog is not seen today, but could easily return if we do not seek better resources for energy. The life expectancy in London in now 78 for a male and 83 for female, which shows the improvement of the environment due to the Clean Air Act. The Steam Engines is still in use today, but has been generally modified to fit society’s needs of clean air.
The first practical low-pressure models of “steam engines were invented by Thomas Savery and Thomas Newcomen in 1698 and 1705, respectively” (Allen & Allen 144). Used exclusively as water pumps throughout the first three quarters of the eighteenth century, they drastically improved the mining industry. In Great Britain, the motherland of the Industrial Revolution, this resolved a severe energy crisis. Coal, extracted from earth by mining, now could be produced in sufficient quantities to replace firewood, supplies of which were practically exhausted. And since these water pumps were specifically designed to consume coal, it was extra beneficial to use them in the coal mining industry. As T. K. Derry and Trevor I. Williams stat...
During the 1600s, the Dutch were the only ones trading with Japan. Not only did they trade goods, but they also spread ideas, including machines that would allow an industrial revolution to occur. While Britain and Japan were major contributors, the biggest contributor, and still today, is China. China’s industrial revolution didn’t occur till much later, starting in the 1960s. Before this, they had very steady production of goods and a fair amount of innovations. Many of their inventions mirrored European technology, such as the water wheel. People didn’t realize how big of an issue this was at the time. Big manufacturers only cared about making money. To them, the pollution was only a minor inconvenience. Only when it would become a big problem is when they started to care. And the signs that it was becoming a big problem were very apparent. Dumping of waste into rivers cause constant outbreaks of cholera and typhoid. These disease weren;t only caused by water but also by the air. All of the smog got into people’s lung, giving way to lung cancer. The smog also created acid rain, which is a very dangerous precipitation that can cause buildings to
Developments and possible unintended consequences) In everyday life, the world produces carbon dioxide which is let out to the Earth’s atmosphere and will still be in the atmosphere in a centuries time. It is this carbon dioxide that causes the “Global warming effect” due to it increasing the heat of the Earth. One way to cut out global warming is to substitute current energy technologies with alternative ones that have better performance and also do not emit carbon dioxide.
...tion, machines were fueled by steam-engine which released large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The wide usage of steam-powered locomotives and railroads only intensified the air pollution. But, without these exploitations, the world would never be as it is now. Without the developments such as the steam-engine, countries wouldn’t be able to develop machines that increase the productivity and lower the prices of goods.
Using coal is one of the most historical ways to generate electricity around worldwide. According to the book Your World in Motion: The Story of Energy by George Barrow, the author stated that the first time people used thermal power by coal was at north train station Paris in 1875. The technology of the generators, the manufacturing of steam turbines and the power transmissions has been improved step...
Energy is the ability to do work. It surrounds us in all aspect of life. However, the ability to harness it and use it, as economically as possible, is the challenge before mankind. Alternative energy refers to energy sources, which are not based on the burning of fossil fuels or the splitting of atoms. The renewed interest in this field of study comes from the undesirable effects of pollution both from burning fossil fuels and nuclear waste by products. Fortunately, there are many means of harnessing energy that have less damaging impacts on the environment. One example wind power. Wind energy is a clean and renewable source of electric power and is also the world's fastest growing energy source.
Energy is a daily necessity we take advantage of without fully understanding the consequences of creating it. The electrical energy that we use as consumers comes from power plants that then convert other types of energy to electricity. The most common way this is done is from burning fossil fuels. The only benefits to this method is the low cost and the growing demand for oil, natural gas heating, and other products refined from fossil fuels. The repercussions of this cheap practice is the environmental and physical harm caused by the fumes and other byproducts of using fossil fuels. One main set back of this method is that people may not continue using it forever. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources that have come from millions or years
There are three laws of thermodynamics in which the changing system can be followed in order to return to equilibrium. In order for a system to gain energy, the surroundings have to supply it, and vice versa when the system loses energy, the surroundings must gain it. As the energy is transferred it can be converted from its original form to another as the transfer takes place, but the energy will never be created or destroyed. The first law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of conservation of energy, basically restates that energy can’t be destroyed or created “as follows: the total energy of the universe is a constant.” All around, the conservation of energy is applied.
A heat engine is a method that executes the transformation of thermal energy or the heat to mechanical energy. That mechanical energy can be used as a mechanical work. This work can be manifest by bringing a working material from a high heat condition to a lower heat condition, by that the heat engine will produce calorific power that creates higher temperature conditions of the working substance. After generating a higher temperature state to the working substance a work will be p...
Historians have named the period between 1750 and 1914, as the era of a modern revolution and it is those revolutions that were witnessed during that period that have continued to shape today’s world. The modern revolution was made up of several developments that interacted with one another to yield better living conditions amongst human beings. Until the 19th century, the main source of energy used was biomass, combustion of heat to obtain heat and use of either animal or human muscle power. However, with the Big Era Seven, coal and steam power were adopted as the major sources of energy. By the early periods of the 19th century, steam power had enabled human beings to increase the amount of energy produced from burning coal and this yielded increased amount of energy that could now be used for purposes of industrialization. By 1914, fossil fuel was in use as well as natural gas.
For example, more industrialization meant more factories, and more factories led to more pollution. The waste produced by factories was expelled into the water as well as into the air, as described by Professor Michael Faraday (Document 1). Faraday was greatly affected by the contamination of the air and water that he observed because never before had anyone seen such filth in nature. In addition, Document 6 portrays the filth of the city from the factories. This filth was a curse to all people because they became more prone to disease due to the increase in contaminants in the air and the decrease of air quality. Furthermore, the Industrial Revolution also decreased the living standards of workers (OI: “Urbanization”). Poor families were forced to live in small tenements because they could not afford to live an extravagant life. These tenements lacked in many ways, including space and sanitation. Due to the packed conditions, diseases spread rapidly. Overall, the housing of the working class was unpleasant and many fell ill to diseases because the risk of developing a disease in a cramped environment was higher. In Document 2, it is evident that the tenements were not an ideal living space. Document 6 portrays that factories were ideally designed for the machines and not for the workers, and as a result the working conditions were also harsh. Working shifts were beyond the control of the workers and the job was not necessarily stable because workers could be fired at any time for any reason (OI: “Working Conditions”). Moreover, the working environment was cramped and caused many problems to arise, such as the death of workers. The working class suffered greatly from the consequences of the Industrial Revolution. However, they also experienced many improvements in life such as the decrease in
In conclusion, the world’s advancement leads to a higher amount of energy used which sacrifices the environment and economy. In order to limit and stop that a numerous strategies have to be applied such as the use of solar energy, nuclear power plants, and hydroelectricity. Through these strategies countries will experience positive effects both economically and socially.
Energy can be put into two broad categories Renewable energy and none renewable energy. Renewable energy sources can be reused continually as they are abundantly found in nature. All of them are non-polluting but devices used to collect the energy may impact the environment adversely. They are free but producing storage equipment or converting them into another form of energy may be costly.