Physics and the environment /

Physics and the environment /

Physics and the Environment directly connects the physical world to environmental issues that the world is facing today and will face in the future. It shows how the first and second laws of thermodynamics limit the efficiencies of fossil-fuel energy conversions to less than 100%, while also discuss...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Forinash, Kyle (Author)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: San Rafael [California] (40 Oak Drive, San Rafael, CA, 94903, USA) : Morgan & Claypool Publishers, [2017]
Series:IOP (Series). Release 3.
IOP concise physics.
Subjects:
First law of thermodynamics.
Second law of thermodynamics.
Energy conservation.
Energy consumption > Environmental aspects.
Energy consumption > Climatic factors.
Human ecology.
Physics.
Geophysics.
Environmental Physics & Clean Technology.
Electronic books.
Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
  • 1. Population and its effects
  • 1.1. Population
  • 1.2. Water and food
  • 1.3. Pollution
  • 1.4. The effects of pollution
  • 2. Energy conservation and the first law of thermodynamics
  • 2.1. The first law of thermodynamics
  • 2.2. Efficiency
  • 2.3. Energy transfer
  • 2.4. Walls and windows
  • 2.5. Lighting
  • 2.6. Energy transfer using electricity
  • 3. Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics
  • 3.1. Entropy remains constant or increases in a closed system
  • 3.2. In a closed system heat flows from hot to cold
  • 3.3. The Carnot cycle is the most efficient
  • 3.4. Heat engines
  • 3.5. Refrigerators and heat pumps
  • 3.6. Fuel cells and batteries
  • 3.7. Entropy changes for electrical processes
  • 4. Non-renewable energy
  • 4.1. Fossil fuels
  • 4.2. Petroleum
  • 4.3. Natural gas
  • 4.4. Coal
  • 4.5. Projections
  • 4.6. Energy return on energy invested
  • 5. Nuclear energy
  • 5.1. Nuclear reactions
  • 5.2. Nuclear reactors
  • 5.3. The refining process
  • 5.4. Radioactive waste
  • 5.5. Radiation
  • 5.6. Safety concerns
  • 5.7. Nuclear fusion
  • 6. Renewable energy
  • 6.1. Hydropower
  • 6.2. Wind
  • 6.3. Biomass
  • 6.4. Geothermal
  • 6.5. Solar
  • 6.6. Tides, waves and other
  • 6.7. Potential and cost of renewables
  • 7. Energy storage
  • 7.1. Embodied energy
  • 7.2. Transportable fuel
  • 7.3. The need for large scale energy storage
  • 7.4. Solar thermal energy storage
  • 7.5. Batteries
  • 7.6. Flow batteries
  • 7.7. Flywheels
  • 7.8. Capacitors
  • 7.9. Compressed air
  • 7.10. Superconducting magnets
  • 8. Transportation
  • 8.1. Energy needed to accelerate and move a vehicle
  • 8.2. The energy cost of energy
  • 8.3. Using hydrogen for transportation
  • 8.4. Well-to-wheels or life-cycle efficiency
  • 8.5. Transportation alternatives
  • 8.6. Transportation risk
  • 9. Climate
  • 9.1. Radiation balance
  • 9.2. The carbon cycle
  • 9.3. Paleoclimatology
  • 9.4. Climate modeling
  • 9.5. Weather versus climate
  • 9.6. Effects of human caused climate change
  • 10. Cost, benefit, risk
  • 10.1. Risk
  • 10.2. Calculation of risk
  • 10.3. Compared risks
  • 10.4. Risk of new technology
  • 10.5. Perception of risk
  • 10.6. Economic factors
  • 10.7. Energy efficiency and the economy.