Fuel Cells and Hydrogen in Transportation - An Introduction
Mineral and power resources
1.
2.
3. WHAT’S A MINERAL?
Minerals come mainly from rocks. To be
considered a real mineral, a substance has
to occur naturally and it has to come from
inorganic material. Inorganic means not
created by living things.
The properties include how hard the
mineral is, how it reflects light, how it
breaks, and how it reacts to chemicals.
MINERALOGY
The study of minerals is called mineralogy.
Scientists called mineralogists identify and
name minerals.
USES OF MINERALS
Minerals are used in many industries. Minerals
which are used for gems are usually hard.
These are then set in various styles for jewellry.
Copper is another metal used in everything
from coins to pipes. Silicon, used in the
computer industry is obtained from quartz.
Aluminum obtained from its ore bauxite is used
in automobiles and airplanes, bottling
industries, buildings and even in kitchen
cookware.
4.
5.
6.
7. WHAT IS COAL?
Coal is mostly made up of the element carbon. When
carbon burns, it releases a large amount of energy as heat. That’s
what makes coal such a useful fuel.
Five-sixths of the coal mined today in the United
States is used in electric power plants. Coal is also used in making
iron and steel and in the cement- and paper-making industries.
PROBLEMS WITH COAL
Like other fossil fuels such as oil, coal is a non-
renewable resource. This means that once it’s used up, it’s gone.
But the United States has a lot of coal. It would take hundreds of
years to use it all.
Burning coal causes air pollution. Chemicals in coal
can produce “acid rain.” Acid rain kills plants and pollutes rivers.
However, machines called scrubbers can keep most of this pollution
from getting into the atmosphere.
Burning coal also releases gases that cause global
warming.
8.
9. WHAT ARE NATURAL RESOURCES?
Natural resources are all the things on
Earth that support life. Plants, animals, air,
and water are natural resources.
Natural resources are also things
that people use to make life easier. Your
life is easier because you can ride in a bus
powered by gasoline. You can cook your
dinner in a microwave oven powered by
electricity. People use natural resources to
make gasoline and electricity. People use
many natural resources to make their
lives easier.
CONSERVING RENEWABLE RESOURCES
People need to use renewable resources
wisely. It’s important to plant a tree for
every tree cut down.
Conservationists look for ways to
protect wilderness areas. Governments set
up national parks to preserve unusual
areas. Families on vacation can then enjoy
the parks and the plants and animals that
live in them. Logging, mining, hunting,
and other activities that use up natural
resources are usually not allowed in
national parks.
10.
11. Settlers planted trees
around their farms. Trees
broke up the fierce winds
that howled across the
prairie. Trees provided
firewood and fruit.
FIREWOOD
12. Atoms are not a new
discovery. Ancient Greeks came up
with the idea of atoms around 400
BC. But the ancient Greeks did not
understand what atoms were really
like. Scientists made many
discoveries about the structure and
nature of atoms during the 1900s.
They used big machines called
atom smashers, or particle
accelerators, to smash parts of
atoms together. Then they studied
the pieces.
They learned that powerful
forces hold each tiny atom
together. They learned how to
release this power called atomic
energy or nuclear energy. They
built atomic bombs using this
energy. They also built nuclear
13. Solar energy is produced
inside the Sun. It is the source of
nearly all energy on Earth. This
energy is stored in the ground, the
oceans, and the wind. Even fossil
fuels, such as oil and natural gas,
come from ancient plant life that
once soaked up sunlight. Today we
use solar energy to heat buildings
and produce electricity.
14. Geothermal Energy, energy
contained in intense heat that
continually flows outward from
deep within Earth. This heat
originates primarily in the core.
Some heat is generated in the
crust, the planet’s outer layer, by
the decay of radioactive elements
that are in all rocks.
The crust, which is about 5
to 75 km thick, insulates the
surface from the hot interior, which
at the core may reach temperatures
from 4000° to 7000° C. Where the
heat is concentrated near the
surface, it can be used as a source
of energy.
GEOTHERMAL
ENERGY
15. The energy of tides has been
harnessed to produce electricity. In
the summer of 1966, a tidal power
plant with a capacity of 240,000 kw
went into operation on the Rance
River, an estuary of the English
Channel in northwestern France. The
incoming tide of the river flows
through a dam, driving turbines, and
then is trapped behind the dam.
When the tide ebbs, the trapped
water is released and flows back
through the dam, again driving the
turbines.
Such tidal power plants are
most efficient if the difference
between high and low tides is great,
as in the Rance estuary, where the
difference is 8.5 m (28 ft). The
highest tides in the world occur in
the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where
the difference between high and low
tide is about 18 m (about 60 ft). The
16. Wind Energy, energy
contained in the force of the winds
blowing across the earth’s surface.
When harnessed, wind energy can be
converted into mechanical energy for
performing work such as pumping
water, grinding grain, and milling
lumber. By connecting a spinning
rotor (an assembly of blades attached
to a hub) to an electric generator,
modern wind turbines convert wind
energy, which turns the rotor, into
electrical energy.
17. Rain water or river water stored in
dams is made to fall from heights.
The falling water flows through pipes
inside the dam over turbine blades placed
at the bottom of the dam. The moving
blades then turn the generator to produce
Electricity. This is called hydroelectricity.
The water discharged after the generation
of electricity is produced by hydel power.
