There has always been work that needs to be done—and work requires energy. Over the centuries, the sources for this energy have changed.
Even the cave man needed to travel in search of game and to bring back water, food and wood to the campsite. At first man used his muscles for every job. This really big jobs would require the cooperation of several people. Eventually, the idea of harnessing the superior muscle power of larger animals occurred and such animals as horses, camels and elephants were put to work.
As time went on, a particularly observant early man, (the prototype scientist, no doubt) noted that logs and other debris were moved along with ease by flowing water, and the raft and dugout canoe were born. Soon some other enterprising and observant fellow noticed the wind howling through the trees and tried adding a sail to his canoe. Man was now set firmly on his continuing quest to get the maximum amount of work accomplished with the minimum expenditure of his own muscle energy.
Soon simple machines were invented. A
machine
is any device which makes it easier or more convenient to do work. The lever was probably first, soon followed by the most important invention of all time , the wheel and axle. Machines, such as the wheel, are not sources of energy, but they do allow us to accomplish much more work with much less energy. This is called
efficiency
.
New England is a mountainous, wooded area streams and rivers. This wood from these forests and the water in the streams provided a convenient source of energy for the mills and factories that our early forebears developed. After Independence, when England no longer required that we send them our raw materials for manufacture, technology began developing new, effective ways to use available energy.
Technology
is a combination of physical skill and scientific knowledge, devoted to developing new and more efficient machines. As we are located on the Atlantic coast, sailboats were conveniently ready to carry off our goods for trade.
In 1769, the steam engine was ready to use and modern industry came into being, leaving simple water wheels and windmills to fall into disrepair and become quaint antiques. One hundred years later the electric motor was designed. These new machines made work easier, but were less efficient in the sense that they required fuel and heat to operate.
The atomic age only came into being in the 1940’s, a mere forty years ago. Once again New England, with its high population density and intense industrial development was in the forefront of the new technology. We now get a higher percentage of our electricity from nuclear reactors than any other part of the country.
It should be interesting at this point, to do an survey of New Haven, questioning city officials, the United Illuminating Company and local merchants and residents on the reality of their energy sources and their conceptions of our energy condition. A sample questionnaire can be at the conclusion of the unit.
An excellent film titled “The Great Search” is available, free of charge, from the United Illuminating Company in New Haven. It tells the history of energy use with Walt Disney animation.
If we take a good look at our lifestyle, with each passing year we become more and more energy intense: that is, we require larger and larger amounts of energy. Only one hundred years ago, farmers used animals to till the soil, the automobile was unknown and ladies washed dishes and did laundry by hand.
When the parents of our students were children, we had increased our energy needs, but we were still way below our present energy levels. They walked to school, their mothers did not have self-cleaning ovens, refrigerators were just replacing ice boxes, and milk came in returnable glass bottles, not throw-away plastic which requires energy to make, and which are manufactured from petroleum products. The clothes they wore were mostly cotton and wool, natural fibers. Our students will notice that almost all of the clothing they are wearing are synthetics, manufactured from fossil fuels.
Students could benefit from discussing these changes with an older family member, like a grandparent, or a neighbor and reporting
on
their observations to the class.
