Know More About Turning Natural Resources Into Energy

The Sun and its energy

Most of our energy comes from the Sun. The Sun is a big ball of glowing gases, made up mostly of hydrogen. Inside the Sun, hydrogen atoms join together (through a process called nuclear fusion) and become helium. During the fusion process large amount of energy is released. The energy works its way to the Sun’s surface and then radiates out into space in the form of waves. These waves give us heat and light. The energy from the Sun is stored in our food, which provides fuel to our bodies. It happens thus:

• Plants absorb energy from the Sun (Solar energy) and convert absorbed energy to chemical energy for storage.
• Animals eat plants and gain the stored chemical energy.
• People eat plants and meat.
• Food provides the body with energy to work and play.

The Sun stores its energy in Fossil Fuels

The Sun also provides the energy stored in fossil fuels. Coal, petroleum and natural gas are fossil fuels. They come from the remnants of ancient plants and animals over millions and millions of years. This is how it happened:

• Hundreds of millions of year ago, before people lied on Earth, trees and other plants absorbed energy from the Sun, just as they do today.
• Animals ate plants and smaller animals.
• After the plants and animals died, they slowly became buried deeper and deeper underground.
• After millions of years, they eventually turned into coal and petroleum.

Although the buried prehistoric plants and animals changed from over time, they still contained stored energy. When we burn fossil fuels today, the stored energy from the Sun is released in the form of heat. The heat is used to warm our homes and other buildings and produce electricity for our lights and appliances.

How does energy get to you?

Energy from Fossil Fuels

Most of our energy comes from fossil fuels. Your home may be heated with oil or natural gas. You may have a kitchen stove that uses natural gas. Cars need gasoline to run. The following shows how energy goes from a primary source to a form of energy that we can use:

• The fossil fuel is taken to a furnace, where it is burned. The heat produced by the burning fuel is used to heat water that flows through pipes. When the water boils, it becomes steam.
• The Steam is sent to a turbine. The steam pushes against the blades of the turbine and causes it to spin.
• A shaft attached to the turbine turns a generator and a spinning magnet produces electricity in coils nearby.
• The electricity is sent by wires over long distances to homes and businesses. The electricity can then be used for lighting and for running appliances or machinery.

Energy from water

For centuries, people have been getting energy from rushing water. In a hydroelectric plant, water from rivers or dams is used to drive machinery like a turbine. The turbine is connected to a generator, which produces electricity.

Nuclear Energy: In nuclear reactors, Uranium atoms are split into smaller atoms to produce heat. The heat is hen used to produce electricity, just as the heat from burning coal is used.