Name: Cathy M Heriff
Status: Other
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
How does energy relate to the environment?
Could misuse of energy lead to our
destruction?
How does energy work?
Replies:
The sun is a big ball of energy, created by thermonuclear fusion. Solar
radiation reaches the earth as sunlight, and is transformed by plants into
hydro-carbons. When plants burn, or when they decay, some of the energy is
released as light and heat. Oil and coal are the remains of ancient swamps,
where lots of plants have collected and decayed after being covered up by
geological processes. The remains are extracted and purified into hydrocarbon
fuels. The energy in the fuels really came from the sun originally.
Scientists are trying to figure out how to get energy from the sun directly
with photo-electric cells, and how to control the thermonuclear fusion
process. An un-controlled thermonuclear fusion process could certainly cause
our destruction if misused - we call it a hydrogen bomb.
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