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Fossil Fuel
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Fuel that comes from the remnants of prehistoric organisms.
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Commercial Energy Sources
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Sources that are bought and sold.
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Subsistence Energy Sources
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Sources gathered by individuals for their own use.
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Conservation of Energy
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Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another.
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EROEI
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Energy return on energy invested. (Energy obtained from the fuel/Energy invested to get it)
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Cogeneration
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Using a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat.
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Coal
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A solid fuel formed from the remains of 280-360 million yr old plant materials
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Lignite, Sub-bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite.
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The four types of coal ranked from lesser to greater age, exposure to pressure, and energy content.
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Petroleum
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A mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur that occur in underground deposits.
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Oil Refinery
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Uses heat to separate crude oil into gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, and diesel fuel.
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Natural Gas
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Exists as a part of petroleum in the ground, and in gaseous deposits separate from petroleum.
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Oil Sands
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A slow-moving, viscous deposit of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay.
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Bitumen (tar/pitch)
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A degraded kind of petroleum that forms when petroleum migrates close to the surface where bacteria metabolize some of the light hydrocarbons and others evaporate.
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Hubbert Curve
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A graph that shows the point at which world oil production would reach a maximum and the point at which we would run out of oil.
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Fission
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A nuclear reaction in which a neutron hits a larger atomic nucleus, which them splits into 2+ parts.
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Uranium 235 (U-235)
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The isotope of uranium that undergoes nuclear fission.
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Fuel Rods
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The cylindrical tubes that house the nuclear fuel used in nuclear power plants.
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Control Rods
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Cylindrical devices that can be inserted between fuel rods to absorb excess neutrons, thus slowing/stopping the fission reaction.
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Radioactive Waste
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Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be used in a power plant, but still emits radioactivity.
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High-Level Radioactive Waste
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The form of nuclear waste used in fuel rods.
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Low-Level Radioactive Waste
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The protective clothing, tools, rags, and other things used in routine plant maintenance.
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Nuclear Fusion
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The reaction that occurs when lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei and release heat. This powers the Sun and other stars.
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Cheatography n. The art of mapping complex subjects into clear, instantly navigable reference guides.
