Portal:Energy

edit The Energy Portal Welcome to Wikipedia's Energy portal, your gateway to energy. This portal is aimed at giving you access to all energy related topics in all of its forms. Main page   Explore topics & categories   Tasks & announcements Page contents: Introduction • Energy news • Selected article • Selected picture • Selected biography • Did you know? • Quotations • Related portals • Wikiprojects • Associated Wikimedia • Help Introduction The Sun is the source of energy for most of life on Earth. It derives its energy mainly from nuclear fusion in its core, converting mass to energy as protons are combined to form helium. This energy is transported to the sun's surface then released into space mainly in the form of radiant (light) energy. In physics, energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object in order to perform work on, or to heat, the object. Energy is a conserved quantity; the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed. The SI unit of energy is the joule, which is the energy transferred to an object by the work of moving it a distance of 1 metre against a force of 1 newton. Common forms of energy include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the potential energy stored by an object's position in a force field (gravitational, electric or magnetic), the elastic energy stored by stretching solid objects, the chemical energy released when a fuel burns, the radiant energy carried by light, and the thermal energy due to an object's temperature. Mass and energy are closely related. Due to mass–energy equivalence, any object that has mass when stationary (called rest mass) also has an equivalent amount of energy whose form is called rest energy, and any additional energy (of any form) acquired by the object above that rest energy will increase the object's total mass just as it increases its total energy. For example, after heating an object, its increase in energy could be measured as a small increase in mass, with a sensitive enough scale. Living organisms require energy to stay alive, such as the energy humans get from food. Human civilization requires energy to function, which it gets from energy resources such as fossil fuels, nuclear fuel, or renewable energy. The processes of Earth's climate and ecosystem are driven by the radiant energy Earth receives from the Sun and the geothermal energy contained within the earth. (Full article...) Selected article On 11 March 2011 the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami off the northeast coast of Japan. The tsunami disabled emergency generators required to cool the reactors. Over the following three weeks nuclear meltdowns occurred in units 1, 2 and 3; visible explosions, suspected to be caused by hydrogen gas, in units 1 and 3; a suspected explosion in unit 2, that may have damaged the primary containment vessel; and a possible uncovering of the units 1, 3 and 4 spent fuel pools. 50,000 households were evacuated after radiation leaked into the air, soil and sea. Radiation checks led to bans of some shipments of vegetables and fish. On 5 July 2012, the Japanese National Diet appointed The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) submitted its inquiry report to the Japanese Diet. The Commission found the nuclear disaster was "manmade", that the direct causes of the accident were all foreseeable prior to 11 March 2011. The report also found that the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was incapable of withstanding the earthquake and tsunami. The Fukushima disaster was the worst nuclear accident in 25 years. The events at units 1, 2 and 3 have been rated at Level 7 (major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures) on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Selected image Photo credit: From an image by Contributor This waste-to-energy plant is one of several that provides district heating in Vienna. Did you know? The Stuart Shale Oil Plant (pictured) in Australia was in operation only five years? Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad and Tobago operates the world's largest LNG train? Despite projections of producing four times as much power as it used in heating, the Riggatron fusion reactor was never built due to a lack of funding? In the late 1980s, as many as 50 percent of Argentina's thermal power plants had to be shut down due to lack of maintenance, causing a supply crisis? Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, the largest nuclear power plant in the world, was shut down after being hit by the Chūetsu offshore earthquake in July 2007? The world's largest surface oil shale pyrolysis reactor is Petrosix, operated by the Brazilian oil company Petrobras? Russia plans to build several floating nuclear power stations? Shale gas, a form of natural gas extracted from shale, may also refer to oil shale gas? Selected biography Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867), an English chemist and physicist, is credited with the discovery of electromagnetic induction, which formed the basis for exploiting electricity as a practical form of energy. His discovery paved the way for the development of generators, induction motors, transformers, and most other electrical machines. In 1831, Faraday began his great series of experiments in which he discovered electromagnetic induction. He established that a changing magnetic field produces an electric field, a relation mathematically modelled by Faraday's law. Faraday later used the principle to construct the electric dynamo, the ancestor of modern power generators. He went on to investigate the fundamental nature of electricity, concluding in 1839 that, contrary to opinions at the time, only a single "electricity" exists, and the changing values of quantity and intensity (voltage and charge) would produce different groups of phenomena. Some historians refer to Faraday as the best experimentalist in the history of science. Despite this his mathematical ability did not extend so far as trigonometry or any but the simplest algebra. He nevertheless possessed the ability to present his ideas in clear and simple language. During his lifetime, Faraday rejected a knighthood and twice refused to become President of the Royal Society. In the news 21 February 2021 – The International Atomic Energy Agency reaches an agreement with Iran to allow inspectors to resume monitoring their nuclear program for up to three months. However, the agreement bars inspectors from doing snap inspections and also prohibits them from reviewing footage taken at the nuclear sites. (Al Jazeera) 15 February 2021 – Nuclear program of Iran Iran says that it has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it will no longer allow snap inspections of its nuclear facilities as of February 21. The snap inspections were a condition of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. (Reuters) 10 February 2021 – Nuclear program of Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Iran has carried out its plan to produce uranium metal at a nuclear facility in Isfahan, a major breach of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Uranium metal is essential to making the core of a nuclear weapon. (Reuters) 18 January 2021 – COVID-19 pandemic The International Energy Agency reports that global methane emissions in 2020 amounted to about 70 million metric tons, which is 10 percent lower than the estimated amount of methane emissions in 2019. The agency cites the decline in industrial activities, as a result of the pandemic, and the introduction of new emission regulations for the reduction in emissions. (Bloomberg) Quotations "My administration is committed to a leadership role on the issue of climate change. We recognize our responsibility and will meet it - at home, in our hemisphere, and in the world." – George W. Bush, 2001 "While the Kyoto Protocol is a crucial step forward, that step is far too small. And as we consider how to go further still, there remains a frightening lack of leadership." – Kofi Annan, 2006 "It is going to be very difficult to keep temperature increases down to between 2 and 3 degrees centigrade [3.6 - 5.4°F]. We should work very hard to do that." – Nicholas Stern, 2006 "Halting global warming requires urgent, unprecedented international cooperation, but the needed actions are feasible and have additional benefits for human health, agriculture and the environment." – James E. Hansen, 2004 Related portals Technology Nuclear technology Engineering Ecology Earth sciences Physics Transport Business and economics Renewable energy Chemistry WikiProjects WikiProjects connected with energy: WikiProject Energy Oil megaprojects task force Other WikiProjects that may be of interest: WikiProject Environment WikiProject Technology WikiProject Biography Help Puzzled by energy? 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