Andrea T. Bailey
Biomass- The total amount of living material in a given habitat, population, or sample. Specific measures of biomass are generally expressed in dry weight (after removal of all water from the sample) per unit area of land or unit volume of water. Renewable organic materials, such as wood, agricultural crops or wastes, and municipal wastes, especially when used as a source of fuel or energy. Biomass can be burned directly or processed into biofuels such as ethanol and methane. See more at biofuel (6).
Conservation- The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit them. Conservation is generally held to include the management of human use of natural resources for current public benefit and sustainable social and economic utilization (6).
Converted- To change (something) into a different form or property; transmute; transform (6).
Energy- The capacity to do work; the property of a system that diminishes when the system does work on any other system, by an amount equal to the work so done; potential energy (6).
Fossil Fuel- Hydrocarbon deposit, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from the accumulated remains of ancient plants and animals and used as fuel. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels are considered to be one of the principal causes of global warming (6).
Generator- Machine that converts mechanical energy into electricity to serve as a power source for other machines. Electrical generators found in power plants use water turbines, combustion engines, windmills, or other sources of mechanical energy to spin wire coils in strong magnetic fields, inducing an electric potential in the coils. A generator that provides alternating current power is called an alternator (6).
Geothermal- Relating to the internal heat of the Earth. The water of hot springs and geysers is heated by geothermal sources. Geothermal energy is power generated from natural steam, hot water, hot rocks, or lava in the Earth's crust. In general, geothermal power is produced by pumping water into cracks in the Earth's crust and then conveying the heated water or steam back to the surface so that its heat can be extracted through a heat exchanger, or its pressure can be used to drive turbines (6)
Hydrothermal- Relating to or produced by hot water, especially water heated underground by the Earth's internal heat. Hydrothermal energy is power that is generated using the Earth's hot water (6).
Joule- The SI unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves through a distance of one meter in the direction of the force: equivalent to 10
7
ergs and one watt-second. Abbreviation: J, j (6).
Kinetic energy- The energy possessed by a system or object as a result of its motion. The kinetic energy of objects with mass is dependent upon the velocity and mass of the object, while the energy of waves depends on their velocity, frequency, and amplitude, as well as the density of the medium if there is one (as with ocean waves) (6).
Nonrenewable energy- Energy sources are nonrenewable if they cannot be replenished (made again) in a short period of time (6).
Potential energy- The energy possessed by a body as a result of its position or condition rather than its motion. A raised weight, coiled spring, or charged battery has potential energy (6).
Power- a. work done or energy transferred per unit of time. Symbol: P
b. the time rate of doing work (6).
Renewable energy- Any naturally occurring, theoretically inexhaustible source of energy, as biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power, that is not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel (6).
Solar energy- The radiant energy emitted by the Sun. Energy derived from the Sun's radiation. Passive solar energy can be exploited through architectural design, as by positioning windows to allow sunlight to enter and help heat a space. Active solar energy involves the conversion of sunlight to electrical energy, especially in solar (photovoltaic) cells. See also solar cell (6).
Turbine- Any of various machines in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid, such as water, steam, or gas, is converted to rotary motion. Turbines are used in boat propulsion systems, hydroelectric power generators, and jet aircraft engines. See also gas turbine (6)
Watt- The SI unit of power, equivalent to one joule per second and equal to the power in a circuit in which a current of one ampere flows across a potential difference of one volt. Abbreviation: W, w (6).
Wind energy- Power derived from wind: used to generate electricity or mechanical power (6).
Work- Force times the distance through which it acts; specifically, the transference of energy equal to the product of the component of a force that acts in the direction of the motion of the point of application of the force and the distance through which the point of application moves (6).