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Below you will find some commonly asked questions about energy. You may also want to explore the other topics relating to our school program «The Many Faces of Energy».
Wind energy is obtained from moving air and is used in transportation, irrigation and power generation. The windmill was used for grinding grain.
- energy from the tides
Tidal energy can be harnessed and used for generating electricity, using reversible turbines such as those at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
- energy from hot springs
Geothermal energy comes from the heat within the Earth. It is used to generate electricity and for residential and commercial heating in certain locations (e.g., Iceland and Japan).
-energy from biomass
Biomass energy is solar energy that has been captured by vegetation and stored in the form of matter that can be used as fuel. For example, wood, wood chips, even garbage can be incinerated and the heat used to produce steam to heat office buildings, as in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Non-renewable sources of energy
- energy from fossil fuels
coal: Formed from land vegetation living hundreds of millions of years ago that becomes a sedimentary rock containing 60-90% carbon. In Canada, coal is found in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia
petroleum: Formed from organic deposits (lipids) rich in hydrogen that become hydrocarbons under the effects of accumulated sediments and growing temperatures; it takes tens of millions of years to form. The Alberta Oil Sands produce petroleum in Canada.
natural gas: A continuation of the petroleum-making process over tens to hundreds of millions of years results in natural gas. In Canada, natural gas is produced at the Sable Offshore Energy Project off the coast of Nova Scotia
- energy from nuclear fission
Nuclear energy results from the fission, or splitting, of heavy atoms like uranium or plutonium. This atomic splitting releases energy. The CANDU reactor first used at Rolphton, Ontario, and now also used throughout Ontario, as well as in Quebec, New Brunswick and six other countries, is used to produce electricity from nuclear energy.
Huygens concluded that, while energy may be transferred, it will not be lost. These ideas laid the ground work for a fundamental concept in physics, the Law of Conservation of Energy.
The carbon dioxide that is released in the combustion of fossil fuels, including petroleum, contributes to the greenhouse effect. Other gases released in this way may be toxic and/or carcinogenic (e.g., carbon monoxide, certain hydrocarbons, benzene). Subsequent chemical transformations of these gases produce low-altitude ozone and nitrous oxides, etc. The transportation of petroleum is hazardous to the environment, especially when tanker vessels run aground, producing massive oil spills. Research is being conducted with the aim of increasing the efficiency of petroleum and decreasing its emissions.
The gases released by the combustion of coal contribute to the greenhouse effect (carbon dioxide) and to the formation of acid rain, which damages lakes, forests, crops and buildings. There are now ways to effectively control acid gas emissions. Additional means of reducing other emissions that are dangerous to the environment, such as carbon dioxide, are now being developed. Coal recovery through open-pit mines also has a considerable impact on the environment.
Misuse of plants and trees (forests, peat, etc) might locally render the soil sterile by increasing surface run-off and encouraging wind erosion. Plant combustion releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Biomass energy also means reducing the quantity of plants that can absorb carbon dioxide, thereby increasing the greenhouse effect.
