Science talk weekly
This term we will be focusing on Energy as our topic of discussion, and this also links to our theme for the up and coming Science Night which is about five weeks away. To start out though, I want you to think about renewable energy – what is it, what types are there, is there a future for renewable energy, and is it really even important? To understand where we are coming from, Australia currently gets the majority of its energy from non-renewable sources of energy, that is, coal. Coal is a fossil fuel that takes many thousands of years to create, though only has a few hundred years left before we have none left. The way it generally works is that we take coal as our fuel source, and burn it to boil water. Once we have boiled water, it turns to steam, and the steam is used to spin turbines. The spinning turbines then generate electricity which we then channel through copper wires to our homes, workplaces etc. Most of our coal plants are running off technology developed many years ago, and the process isn’t very efficient. About 70% of the energy released when burning coal is lost through the process, and then there is the issue of the by-products – that is, the pollution – that is created through burning coal. Carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, is a gas that interacts with other gases in the Earth’s atmosphere (mainly ozone) that are responsible for filtering out harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. By burning coal, we create excessive amounts of CO2, which then breaks down the ozone layer that protects the Earth. We need to research and explore the avenue of renewable fuels as a country, because we can do it better, and have a responsibility to protect the Earth’s livelihood for the future. There are already countries that are using between 80 - 100% renewable energy sources, whereas Australia sits down at the 10-15% mark. According to some, this renewable source of wind energy is ugly and not worth pursuing. What do you think? How does it compare to coal (below)?
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How this beganWhat started out as a quick weekly Q&A in my school's paper newsletter has grown into an online multimedia science spot. Archives
October 2015
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