Activation
Energy - Activation energy of a reaction is the
amount of energy needed to start the reaction.
Active
Heating System - A solar water or space-heating
system that moves heated air or water using pumps or fans.
Air-Conditioning - Cooling and dehumidifying the air in a building by a
refrigeration unit by a refrigeration unit powered by
electricity or natural gas. This definition excludes fans,
blowers, or evaporative cooling systems (swamp coolers)
that are not connected to a refrigeration unit.
Air-Conditioning
Equipment - Either a central system, window or
wall units that cool the air in a housing unit by a refrigeration
unit powered by electricity or natural gas. This definition
excludes fans, blowers, or evaporative cooling systems
(swamp coolers) that are not connected to a refrigeration
unit.
Alternating
Current - An electric current that reverses its
direction at regular intervals or cycles; In the U.S.
the standard is 120 reversals or 60 cycles per second;
typically abbreviated as AC.
Alternative
Fuel - A popular term for "non-conventional" transportation
fuels made from natural gas (propane, compressed natural
gas, methanol, etc.) or biomass materials (ethanol, methanol).
Alternative-Fuel
Vehicle (AFV) - A vehicle designed to operate
on an alternative fuel (e.g., compressed natural gas,
methane blend, electricity). The vehicle could be either
a vehicle designed to operate exclusively on alternative
fuel or a vehicle designed to operate on alternative fuel
and/or a traditional fuel.
Ampere - A
unit of measure for an electrical current; the amount
of current that flows in a circuit at an electromotive
force of one Volt and at a resistance of one Ohm. Abbreviated
as amp.
Anthropogenic - Made or generated by a human or caused by human activity.
The term is used in the context of global climate change
to refer to gaseous emissions that are the result of human
activities, as well as other potentially climate-altering
activities, such as deforestation.
Appliance - A piece of equipment, commonly powered by electricity,
used to perform a particular energy-driven function. Examples
of common appliances are refrigerators, clothes washers
and dishwashers, conventional ranges/ovens and microwave
ovens, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, toasters, radios,
and televisions.
Atomic Structure - The conceptualized concept of an atom, regarded as consisting
of a central positively charged nucleus (protons and neutrons)
and a number of negatively charged electrons revolving
about in various orbits.
Average -
The simple arithmetic average for a population; that is,
the sum of all the values in a population divided by the
size of the population. Population means are estimated
by computing the weighted sum of the sample values, then
dividing by the sum of the sample weights.
Barrel: A unit
of volume equal to 42 U.S. gallons. One barrel weights
306 pounds or 5.80 million Btu of crude oil. Barrel is
abbreviated as bbl.
Battery -
An energy storage device made up of one or more electrolyte
cells.
Biodiesel - An alternative fuel that can be made from any fat or
vegetable oil. It can be used in any diesel engine with
few or no modifications. Although biodiesel does not contain
petroleum, it can be blended with diesel at any level
or used in its pure form.
Biofuels - Liquid fuels and blending components produced from biomass
(plant) feedstocks, used primarily for transportation.
Bioreactor - A landfill where the waste actively decomposes rather
being simply buried in a "dry tomb."
Biomass -
Any organic (plant or animal) material which is available
on a renewable basis, including agricultural crops and
agricultural wastes and residues, wood and wood wastes
and residues, animal wastes, municipal wastes, and aquatic
plants.
Boiler - a
tank in which water is heated to produce either hot water
or steam that is circulated for the purpose of heating
and power.
Boiling
Water Reactor - A nuclear reactor in which water
is allowed to boil in the core. The resulting steam is
used to drive a turbine generating electric power.
British
thermal unit (Btu) - The amount of heat required
to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree
Fahrenheit; equal to 252 calories. British thermal unit
is abbreviated as Btu.
Calorie -
A unit for measuring heat energy. This unit is equal to
4.184 joules. Often used instead of joules when dealing
with the energy released from food.
Carbon
Dioxide - A colorless, odorless noncombustible
gas with the formula CO2 that is present in the atmosphere.
It is formed by the combustion of carbon and carbon compounds
(such as fossil fuels and biomass) and by respiration,
which is a slow combustion in animals and plants, and
by the gradual oxidation of organic matter in the soil.
Chain Reaction - A self-sustaining nuclear reaction which takes place
during fission. A fissionable substance (i.e., uranium)
absorbs a neutron and divides, releasing additional neutrons
that are absorbed by other fissionable nuclei, releasing
still more neutrons.
Chemical Energy - Energy stored in a substance and released during a chemical
reaction such as burning wood, coal, or oil.
Circuit(s) - A conductor or a system of conductors through which
electric current flows.
Climate Change - A term used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency,
but especially to significant change from one prevailing
climatic condition to another. In some cases, "climate
change" has been used synonymously with the term "global
warming"; scientists, however, tend to use the term in
a wider sense inclusive of natural changes in climate,
including climatic cooling.
Coal - A fossil
fuel formed by the breakdown of vegetable material trapped
underground without access to air.
Coal-Fired
Power Plant - A power plant that uses coal as
the fuel to generate electricity.
Cofiring - The process of burning natural gas in conjunction with
another fuel to reduce air pollutants.
Cogeneration - The production of electrical energy and another form
of useful energy (such as heat of steam) through the sequential
use of energy.
Collector Field - The area where many solar collectors are situated in
a solar power plant.
Combustion - Chemical oxidation accompanied by the generation of
light and heat.
Commercial
Sector (of Economy) - The part of the economy
having to do with the buying and selling of goods and
services. The commercial sector is made up of merchants,
businesses, etc.
Conversion Factors - A number that translates units of one measurement system
into corresponding values of another measurement system.
Deforestation: - The net removal of trees from forested land.
Derrick -
A frame tower that supports the drill equipment used to
find oil and natural gas in the earth.
Diesel Engine -Diesel engines are internal combustion engines that burn
diesel oil rather than gasoline.
Diesel Fuel - A fuel composed of distillates obtained in petroleum
refining operation or blends of such distillates with
residual oil used in motor vehicles. The boiling point
and specific gravity are higher for diesel fuels than
for gasoline.
Direct Current - An electric current that flows in only one direction
through a circuit, as from a battery.
Distillate
Fuel Oil - A general classification for one of
the petroleum fractions produced in conventional distillation
operations. It includes diesel fuels and fuel oils. Products
known as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 diesel fuel are used
in on-highway diesel engines, such as those in trucks
and automobiles, as well as off-highway engines, such
as those in railroad locomotives and agricultural machinery.
Products known as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 fuel oils are
used primarily for space heating and electric power generation.
Distillation
Unit (atmospheric) - The primary distillation
unit that processes crude oil (including mixtures of other
hydrocarbons) at approximately atmospheric conditions.
It includes a pipe still for vaporizing the crude oil
and a fractionation tower for separating the vaporized
hydrocarbon components in the crude oil into fractions
with different boiling ranges. This is done by continuously
vaporizing and condensing the components to separate higher
oiling point material.
Drilling - The act of boring a hole (1) to determine whether minerals
are present in commercially recoverable quantities and
(2) to accomplish production of the minerals (including
drilling to inject fluids). There are three types of drilling
: exploratory - drilling to locate probable mineral deposits
or to establish the nature of geological structures; such
wells may not be capable of production if minerals are
discovered; developmental - drilling to delineate the
boundaries of a known mineral deposit to enhance the productive
capacity of the producing mineral property; and directional
- drilling that is deliberately made to depart significantly
from the vertical.
Dynamo - A
device that changes mechanical energy into electrical
energy.
Electrical
Energy - The energy associated with electric charges
and their movements.
Electricity - A form of energy characterized by the presence and motion
of elementary charged particles generated by friction,
induction, or chemical change.
Electricity
Generation - The process of producing electric
energy or the amount of electric energy produced by transforming
other forms of energy, commonly expressed in kilowatthours
(kWh) or megawatthours (MWh).
Electric Motor - a device that takes electrical energy and converts it
into mechanical energy to turn a shaft.
Electric Power - The amount of energy produced per second. The power
produced by an electric current.
Electrochemistry - The branch of chemistry that deals with the chemical
changes produced by electricity and the production of
electricity by chemical changes.
Electromagnetic - Having to do with magnetism produced by an electric
current.
Electromagnetic
Energy - Energy that travels in waves, such as
ultra-violet radiation. It can be thought of as a combination
of electric and magnetic energy.
Electromagnetic
Waves - Radiation that consists of traveling waves
of electric and magnetic disturbances. X-rays, light rays
and radio waves are among the many kinds of electromagnetic
waves.
Electron - A subatomic particle with a negative electric charge.
Electrons form part of an atom and move around its nucleus.
Element -
Any substance that cannot be separated into different
substances. All matter is composed of elements.
Emission - A discharge or something that is given off; generally
used in regard to discharges into the air. Or, releases
of gases to the atmosphere from some type of human activity
(cooking, driving a car, etc). In the context of global
climate change, they consist of greenhouse gases (e.g.,
the release of carbon dioxide during fuel combustion).
Energy - The
ability to do work or the ability to move an object. Electrical
energy is usually measured in kilowatthours (kWh), while
heat energy is usually measured in British thermal units
(Btu).
Energy Consumption - The use of energy as a source of heat or power or as
a raw material input to a manufacturing process.
Energy Efficiency - Refers to activities that are aimed at reducing the
energy used by substituting technically more advanced
equipment, typically without affecting the services provided.
Examples include high-efficiency appliances, efficient
lighting programs, high-efficiency heating, ventilating
and air conditioning (HVAC) systems or control modifications,
efficient building design, advanced electric motor drives,
and heat recovery systems.
Ethanol -
A colorless liquid that burns to produce water and carbon
dioxide. The vapor forms an explosive mixture with air
and may be used as a fuel in internal combustion engines.
Filament - The fine metal wire in a light bulb that glows when
heated by an electric current.
Fission -
The splitting apart of atoms. This splitting releases
large amounts of energy and one or more neutrons. Nuclear
power plants split the nuclei of uranium atoms in a process
called fission.
Flat-Plate
Solar Connector - A device designed to capture
the suns energy and produce low temperature heat energy.
They are commonly used as collectors in solar heating
systems.
Flow - To move
or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner
characteristic of a fluid.
Force - Something
which changes the state of rest or motion of something.
Fossil Fuels - Fuels (coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) that result from
the compression of ancient plant and animal life formed
over millions of years.
Fuel - Any material that can be burned to make energy.
Fuel Cycle - The entire set of stages involved in the utilization
of fuel, including extraction, transformation, transportation,
and combustion.
Fuel Oil -
An oil that is used for fuel and that usually ignites
at a higher temperature than kerosene.
Furnace -
An enclosed structure in which heat is produced for the
purpose of heating a house or a building.
Fusion -
When the nuclei of atoms are combined or "fused" together.
The sun combines the nuclei of hydrogen atoms into helium
atoms in a process called fusion. Energy from the nuclei
of atoms, called "nuclear energy" is released from fusion.
Gallon - A
measure of volume equal to 4 quarts (231 cubic inches).
One barrel equals 42 gallons.
Gas - (1) A non-solid,
non-liquid (as hydrogen or air) substance that has no
fixed shape and tends to expand without limit. (2) A state
of matter in which the matter concerned occupies the whole
of its container irrespective of its quantity. Includes
natural gas, coke-oven gas, blast furnace gas, and refinery
gas.
Gasoline - A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons
with or without small quantities of additives, blended
to form a fuel suitable for use in spark-ignition engines.
Gas
To Liquids (GTL) - A process that combines the
carbon and hydrogen elements in natural gas molecules
to make synthetic liquid petroleum products, such as diesel
fuel.
Gas Turbine
Plant - A plant in which the prime mover is a
gas turbine. A gas turbine consists typically of an axial-flow
air compressor and one or more combustion chambers where
liquid or gaseous fuel is burned and the hot gases are
passed to the turbine and where the hot gases expand drive
the generator and are then used to run the compressor.
Generator - A device that turns mechanical energy into electrical
energy. The mechanical energy is sometimes provided by
an engine or turbine.
Generating
Capacity - The amount of electrical power a power
plant can produce.
Geothermal
Energy - The heat energy that is produced by natural
processes inside the earth. It can be taken from hot springs,
reservoirs of hot water deep below the ground, or by breaking
open the rock itself.
Global Warming - An increase in the near surface temperature of the Earth.
Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the
result of natural influences, but the term is today most
often used to refer to the warming some scientists predict
will occur as a result of increased anthropogenic emissions
of greenhouse gases.
Gravity -
The natural force of attraction of the mass of a heavenly
body (as the earth) for bodies at or near its surface.
Greenhouse
Effect - The effect of the Earth's atmosphere,
due to certain gases, in trapping heat from the sun; the
atmosphere acts like a greenhouse.
Greenhouse
Emissions - Waste gases given off by industrial
and power plants, automobiles and other processes.
Greenhouse
Gases - Gases that trap the heat of the sun in
the Earth's atmosphere, producing the greenhouse effect.
The two major greenhouse gases are water vapor and carbon
dioxide. Lesser greenhouse gases include methane, ozone,
chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrogen oxides.
Green Pricing - In the case of renewable electricity, green pricing
represents a market solution to the various problems associated
with regulatory valuation of the nonmarket benefits of
renewables. Green pricing programs allow electricity customers
to express their willingness to pay for renewable energy
development through direct payments on their monthly utility
bills.
Grid - The layout
of an electrical distribution system.
Heat Content - The gross heat content is the number of British thermal
units (Btu) produced by the combustion, of a volume of
gas under certain with air of the same temperature and
pressure as the gas, when the products of combustion are
cooled to the initial temperature of gas and air and when
the water formed by combustion is condensed to the liquid
state.
Heat Exchanger - Any device that transfers heat from one fluid (liquid
or gas) to another or to the environment.
Heating Equipment - Any equipment designed and/or specifically used for
heating ambient air in an enclosed space. Common types
of heating equipment include: central warm air furnace,
heat pump, plug-in or built-in room heater, boiler for
steam or hot water heating system, heating stove, and
fireplace.
Heliostat - Flat sun-tracking mirrors used to reflect and concentrate
the suns' energy onto a central receiver tower.
Horsepower - A unit for measuring the rate of work (or power) equivalent
to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute or 746 watts.
Hydroelectric
Power Plant - A power plant that uses moving water
to power a turbine generator to produce electricity.
Hydrogen - A colorless, odorless, highly flammable gaseous element.
It is the lightest of all gases and the most abundant
element in the universe, occurring chiefly in combination
with oxygen in water and also in acids, bases, alcohols,
petroleum, and other hydrocarbons.
Incandescent
Light Bulb - An incandescent bulb is a type of
electric light in which light is produced by a filament
heated by electric current. The most common example is
the type you find in most table and floor lamps. In commercial
buildings, incandescent lights are used for display lights
in retail stores, hotels and motels. This includes the
very small, high-intensity track lights used to display
merchandise or provide spot illumination in restaurants.
Induction - The process of producing an electrical or magnetic effect
through the influence of a nearby magnet, electric current,
or electrically charged body.
Industrial
Sector (of the Economy) - The part of the economy
having to do with the production of goods. The industrial
sector is made up of factories, power plants, etc.
Inertia -
A property of matter by which it remains at rest or in
uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted
upon by some outside force.
Joule - A metric unit for measuring work and energy,
named after James Joule. It is equal to the work done
when a one ampere current is passed through a resistance
of one ohm for one second.
Kerosene - A thick oil obtained from petroleum and used as a fuel
and solvent.
Kilowatt - A unit of power, usually used for electric power or
to energy consumption (use). A kilowatt equals 1000 watts.
Kilowatthour(kWh) - A measure of electricity defined as a unit of work or
energy, measured as 1 kilowatt (1,000 watts) of power
expended for 1 hour. One kWh is equivalent to 3,412 Btu
or 3.6 million joules.
Kinetic -
The energy of a body which results from its motion.
Kinetic
Theory of Energy - The theory that the minute
particles of all matter are in constant motion and that
the temperature of a substance depends upon the velocity
(speed) of the motion.
Kinetic
Theory of Gases - The theory that physical properties
of a gas are due to the rapid motion in a straight line
of its molecules, to their impacts against each other
and the walls of the container, and to weak attraction
forces between the molecules.
Light - Radiant
electromagnetic energy that an observer can see.
Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG) -A group of hydrocarbon-based
gases derived from crude oil refining or natural gas fractionation.
They include ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, normal
butane, butylene, isobutane, and isobutylene. For convenience
of transportation, these gases are liquefied through pressurization.
Load - The power
and energy requirements of users on the electric power
system in a certain area or the amount of power delivered
to a certain point.
Longwall Mining - An automated form of underground coal mining characterized
by high recovery and extraction rates, feasible only in
relatively flat-lying, thick, and uniform coalbeds. A
high-powered cutting machine is passed across the exposed
face of coal, shearing away broken coal, which is continuously
hauled away by a floor-level conveyor system. Longwall
mining extracts all machine-minable coal between the floor
and ceiling within a contiguous block of coal, known as
a panel, leaving no support pillars within the panel area.
Panel dimensions vary over time and with mining conditions
but currently average about 900 feet wide (coal face width)
and more than 8,000 feet long (the minable extent of the
panel, measured in direction of mining). Longwall mining
is done under movable roof supports that are advanced
as the bed is cut. The roof in the mined-out area is allowed
to fall as the mining advances.
Megawatt - A unit of electrical power equal to 1000 kilowatts or
one million watts.
Mercaptan - An organic chemical compound that has a sulfur like
odor that is added to natural gas before distribution
to the consumer, to give it a distinct, unpleasant odor
(smells like rotten eggs). This serves as a safety device
by allowing it to be detected in the atmosphere, in cases
where leaks occur.
Methane -A
colorless, flammable, odorless hydrocarbon gas (CH4) which
is the major component of natural gas. It is also an important
source of hydrogen in various industrial processes. Methane
is a greenhouse gas.
Miles
Per Gallon (MPG) - A measure of vehicle fuel efficiency.
MPG is computed as the ratio of the total number of miles
traveled by a vehicle to the total number of gallons consumed.
Mobile Home - A trailer that is used as a permanent dwelling.
Molecule - Particles that normally consist of two or more atoms
joined together. An example is a water molecule that is
made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
Natural Gas - An odorless, colorless, tasteless, non-toxic clean-burning
fossil fuel. It is usually found in fossil fuel deposits
and used as a fuel.
Natural
Gas Hydrates - Solid, crystalline, wax-like substances
composed of water, methane, and usually a small amount
of other gases, with the gases being trapped in the interstices
of a water-ice lattice. They form beneath permafrost and
on the ocean floor under conditions of moderately high
pressure and at temperatures near the freezing point of
water.
Natural
Gas Liquids (NGL) - Substances that can be processed
as liquids out of natural gas by absorption or condensation.
Nonconcentrator
System - A type of solar energy system that does
not rely on special devices to concentrate the sun's radiation
while collecting it.
Nonrenewable - Fuels that cannot be easily made or "renewed." We can
use up nonrenewable fuels. Oil, natural gas, and coal
are nonrenewable fuels.
Nuclear Energy - Energy that comes from splitting atoms of radioactive
materials, such as uranium.
Offshore - The geographic area that lies seaward of the coastline.
In general, the coastline is the line of ordinary low
water along with that portion of the coast that is in
direct contact with the open sea or the line marking the
seaward limit of inland water.
Offshore
Reserves and Production - Unless otherwise dedicated,
energy source reserves and production that are in either
state or Federal domains, located seaward of the coastline.
Ohm - The unit
of resistance to the flow of an electric current.
Oil - The raw
material that petroleum products are made from. A black
liquid fossil fuel found deep in the Earth. Gasoline and
most plastics are made from oil.
OPEC - The Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries organized for the purpose
of negotiating with oil companies on matters of oil production,
prices, and future concession rights. Current members
(as of the date of writing this definition) are Algeria,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
See OPEC's site at http://www.opec.org for more information.
Organic Waste - Waste material of animal or plant origin.
Parabolic
Trough - A type of solar concentrator collector
that has a linear parabolic shaped reflector that focuses
the sun’s radiation on a receiver at the focus of the
reflector.
Peak Load Plant-
A plant usually housing old, low-efficiency steam units,
gas turbines, diesels, or pumped-storage hydroelectric
equipment normally used during the peak-load periods.
Penstock - A large pipe which carries moving water from the reservoir
to a turbine generator in a hydropower plant.
Petrochemicals - Organic and inorganic petroleum compounds and mixtures
that include but are not limited to organic chemicals,
cyclic intermediates, plastics and resins, synthetic fibers,
elastomers, organic dyes, organic pigments, detergents,
surface active agents, carbon black, and ammonia.
Periodic Table - Table of all known elements in a meaningful pattern.
Petroleum - Generally refers to crude oil or the refined products
obtained from the processing of crude oil (gasoline, diesel
fuel, heating oil, etc.) Petroleum also includes lease
condensate, unfinished oils, and natural gas plant liquids.
Photon - A
particle of light that acts as an individual unit of energy.
Photosynthesis - The process by which green plants make food (carbohydrates)
from water and carbon dioxide, using the energy in sunlight.
Photovoltaic
Cells - A device, usually made from silicon, which
converts some of the energy from light (radiant energy)
into electrical energy. Another name for a solar cell.
Photovoltaic
Conversion - The process by which radiant (light)
energy is changed into electrical energy.
Pipeline,
Distribution - A pipeline that conveys gas from
a transmission pipeline to its ultimate consumer.
Plasma - A
high-temperature, ionized gas composed of electrons and
positive ions in such number that it is electrically neutral.
Power - The
rate at which energy is transferred. Electrical energy
is usually measured in watts. Also used for a measurement
of capacity.
Power Degradation - The loss of power when electricity is sent over long
distances.
Power-Generating
Efficiency - The percentage of the total energy
content of a power plant’s fuel which is converted into
electric energy. The remaining energy is lost to the environment
as heat.
Power Plant - A facility where power, especially electricity, is generated.
Pressurized
Water Reactor - A reactor in which water, heated
by nuclear energy, is kept a high pressure to prevent
the water from boiling. Steam is then generated in a secondary
coolant loop.
Prime Mover - The engine, turbine, water wheel, or similar machine
that drives an electric generator; or, for reporting purposes,
a device that converts energy to electricity directly
(i.e. photovoltaic solar and fuel cells).
Propane (C3H8) - A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon. It is
a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a temperature
of -43.67 degrees Fahrenheit. It is extracted from natural
gas or refinery gas streams.
Production,
Oil and Gas - The lifting of oil and gas to the
surface and gathering, treating, field processing (as
in the case of processing gas to extract liquid hydrocarbons),
and field storage.
R-Value - A
measure of a material's resistance to heat flow in units
of Fahrenheit degrees x hours x square feet per Btu. The
higher the R-value of a material, the greater its insulating
capability.
Radiant Energy - Any form of energy radiating from a source in waves.
Radiation - Any high-speed transmission of energy in the form of
particles or electromagnetic waves.
Radioactive
Element - An element whose atoms have unstable
nuclei that stabilizes itself by giving off radiation.
Radioactive
Waste - Materials left over from making nuclear
energy. Radioactive waste can harm people and the environment
if it is not stored safely.
Radioactivity - The property possessed by some elements, such as uranium,
of giving off alpha, beta, or gamma rays.
Reactor Core - Part of a nuclear power station - the structure inside
which fission occurs in millions of atomic nuclei, producing
huge amounts of heat energy.
Recycling - The process of converting materials that are no longer
useful as designed or intended into a new product.
Refinery -
An industrial plant that heats crude oil (petroleum) so
that is separates into chemical components, which are
then made into more useful substances.
Refined
Petroleum Products - Refined petroleum products
include but are not limited to gasoline, kerosene, distillates
(including No. 2 fuel oil), liquefied petroleum gas, asphalt,
lubricating oils, diesel fuels, and residual fuels.
Refrigeration - To make or keep food cold or cool by using a refrigerator.
Renewable
Energy Sources - Fuels that can be easily made
or "renewed." We can never use up renewable fuels. Types
of renewable fuels are hydropower (water), solar, wind,
geothermal, and biomass. .
Residential
Sector (of the Economy) - The part of the economy
having to do with the places people stay or live. The
residential sector is made up of homes, apartments, condominiums,
etc.
Semiconductor - Any material that has a limited capacity for conducting
an electric current. Semiconductors are crystalline solids,
such as silicon, that have an electrical conductivity
between that of a conductor and an insulator.
Shaft mine - A mine that reaches the coal bed by means of a vertical
shaft.
Short ton - A unit of weight equal to 2,000 pounds, often used to
measure coal.
Solar Cell - An electric cell which changes radiant energy
from the sun into electrical energy by the photovoltaic
process.
Solar Dish - A device that receives radiation collected by motorized
collectors which track the sun. The collectors focus the
radiation the energy at a focal point of the dish.
Solar Energy - The radiant energy of the sun, which can be converted
into other forms of energy, such as heat or electricity.
Solar Power
Tower - The conceptual method of producing electrical
energy from solar rays. It involved the focusing of a
large number of solar rays on a single source (boiler),
usually located on an elevated tower, to produce high
temperatures. A fluid located in or passed through the
source changes into steam and used in a turbine generator
to produce electrical energy.
Solar spectrum - The total distribution of electromagnetic radiation
emanating from the sun.
Solar
Thermal Heating System - Systems using concentrating
collectors to focus the sun's radiant energy onto or into
receivers to produce heat.
Space Heating - The use of energy to generate heat for warmth in housing
units using space-heating equipment. The equipment could
be the main space-heating equipment or secondary space-heating
equipment.
Spectrum
of Electromagnetic Radiation - The name that scientists
give to a bunch of types of radiation when they want to
talk about them as a group. The types of radiation include
the full range of frequencies, from radio waves to gamma
waves, which characterize light.
Spent
Fuel - Irradiated fuel that is permanently discharged
from a nuclear reactor. Except for possible reprocessing,
this fuel must eventually be removed from its temporary
storage location at the reactor site and placed in a permanent
repository. Spent fuel is typically measured either in
metric tons of heavy metal (i.e., only the heavy metal
content of the spent fuel is considered) or in metric
tons of initial heavy metal (essentially, the initial
mass of the fuel before irradiation). The difference between
these two quantities is the weight of the fission products.
Steam - Water
in vapor form; used as the working fluid in steam turbines
and heating systems.
Steam Generator - A generator in which the prime movers (turbines) are
powered by steam.
Superconductivity - The abrupt and large increase in electrical conductivity
exhibited by some metals as the temperature approaches
absolute zero.
Surface Mine - A coal-producing mine that is usually within a few hundred
feet of the surface. Earth above or around the coal (overburden)
is removed to expose the coal bed, which is then mined
with surface excavation equipment, such as draglines,
power shovels, bulldozers, loaders, and augers. It may
also be known as an area, contour, open-pit, strip, or
auger mine.
Tank Farm - An installation used by trunk and gathering pipeline
companies, crude oil producers, and terminal operators
(except refineries) to store crude oil.
Tanker and
Barge - Vessels that transport crude oil or petroleum
products.
Tesla Coil - A device for producing a high-frequency, high-voltage
electric current.
Thermal Energy - The total potential and kinetic energy
associated with the random motions of the molecules of
a material.
Thermostat - A device that adjusts the amount of heating and cooling
produced and/or distributed by automatically responding
to the temperature in the environment.
Transformer - A device which converts the generator's low-voltage
electricity to higher-voltage levels for transmission
to the load center, such as a city or factory.
Transmission
(Electric) - The movement or transfer of electric
energy over an interconnected group of lines and associated
equipment between points of supply and points at which
it is transformed for delivery to consumers or is delivered
to other electric systems. Transmission is considered
to end when the energy is transformed for distribution
to the consumer.
Transmission
Line - A set of conductors, insulators, supporting
structures, and associated equipment used to move large
quantities of power at high voltage, usually over long
distances between a generating or receiving point and
major substations or delivery points.
Transmission
System (Electric) - An interconnected group of
electric transmission lines and associated equipment for
moving or transferring electric energy in bulk between
points of supply and points at which it is transformed
for delivery over the distribution system lines to consumers
or is delivered to other electric systems.
Turbine -
A device which blades, which is turned by a force, e.g.
that of wind, water , or high pressure steam. The mechanical
energy of the spinning turbine is converted into electricity
by a generator.
Transportation
Sector (of the Economy) - The part of the economy
having to do with the how people and goods are transported
(moved) from place to place.. The transportation sector
is made up of automobiles, airplanes, trucks, and ships.
trains, etc.
Underground
Mine - A mine where coal is produced by tunneling
into the earth to the coal bed, which is then mined with
underground mining equipment such as cutting machines
and continuous, long wall, and short wall mining machines.
Underground mines are classified according to the type
of opening used to reach the coal, i.e., drift (level
tunnel), slope (inclined tunnel), or shaft (vertical tunnel).
Uranium -
A heavy, naturally-occurring, radioactive element.
Uranium Fuel
Cycle - The series of steps involved in supplying
fuel for nuclear power reactors. It includes mining, refining,
the making of fuel elements, their use in a reactor, chemical
processing to recover spent (used) fuel, re-enrichment
of the fuel material, and remaking into new fuel elements.
Utility
Generation - Generation by electric systems engaged
in selling electric energy to the public.
Vehicle
Fuel Consumption - Vehicle fuel consumption is
computed as the vehicle miles traveled divided by the
fuel efficiency reported in miles per gallon (MPG). Vehicle
fuel consumption is derived from the actual vehicle mileage
collected and the assigned MPGs obtained from EPA certification
files adjusted for on-road driving. The quantity of fuel
used by vehicles.
Volt (V) - The
volt is the International System of Units (SI) measure
of electric potential or electromotive force. A potential
of one volt appears across a resistance of one ohm when
a current of one ampere flows through that resistance.
Reduced to SI base units, 1 V = 1 kg times m2 times s-3
times A-1 (kilogram meter squared per second cubed per
ampere).
Voltage -
The difference in electrical potential between any two
conductors or between a conductor and ground. It is a
measure of the electric energy per electron that electrons
can acquire and/or give up as they move between the two
conductors.
Waste - Municipal
solid waste, landfill gas, methane, digester gas, liquid
acetonitrile waste, tall oil, waste alcohol, medical waste,
paper pellets, sludge waste, solid byproducts, tires,
agricultural byproducts, closed loop biomass, fish oil,
and straw.
Waste Energy - Municipal solid waste, landfill gas, methane, digester
gas, liquid acetonitrile waste, tall oil, waste alcohol,
medical waste, paper pellets, sludge waste, solid byproducts,
tires, agricultural byproducts, closed loop biomass, fish
oil, and straw used as fuel.
Water Cycle - Water constantly moves through a vast global cycle,
in which it evaporates from lakes and oceans, forms clouds,
precipitates as rain or snow, then flows back to the ocean.
The energy of this water cycle, which is driven by the
sun, is tapped most efficiently with hydropower.
Water Heater - An automatically controlled, thermally insulated vessel
designed for heating water and storing heated water at
temperatures less than 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Water Turbine - A turbine that uses water pressure to rotate its blades.
Primarily used to power an electric generator.
Watt - A metric
unit of power, usually used in electric measurements,
which gives the rate at which work is done or energy used.
Wavelength - The distance, measured in the direction of progression
of a wave, from any given point to the next point in the
same phase.
Well - A hole
drilled in the earth for the purpose of (1) finding or
producing crude oil or natural gas; or (2) producing services
related to the production of crude or natural gas.
Wellhead - The point at which the crude (and/or natural gas) exits
the ground.
Wind - The term given to any natural movement of air in the
atmosphere. A renewable source of energy used to turn
turbines to generate electricity.
Wind Machine - Devices powered by the wind that produce mechanical
or electrical power.
Wind Tower - Devices, some as tall as 120 feet, which lift wind turbine
blades high above the ground to catch stronger wind currents.
Wood and Waste
(as used at electric utilities) - Wood energy,
garbage, bagasse (sugarcane residue), sewerage gas, and
other industrial, agricultural, and urban refuse used
to generate electricity for distribution.
Wood Energy - Wood and wood products used as fuel, including round
wood (cord wood), limb wood, wood chips, bark, sawdust,
forest residues, charcoal, pulp waste, and spent pulping
liquor.
Yellowcake: A natural uranium concentrate that takes its name from
its color and texture. Yellowcake typically contains 70
to 90 percent U3O8 (uranium oxide)
by weight. It is used as feedstock for uranium fuel enrichment
and fuel pellet fabrication.
