Atomic energy is energy carried by atoms.

The term originated in 1903 when Ernest

Rutherford began to speak of the possibility of atomic energy.[1] The term was popularized by H. G.
Wells in the phrase, "splitting the atom", devised at a time prior to the discovery of the nucleus.
Atomic energy may include:

Nuclear binding energy, the energy required to split a nucleus of an atom.

Nuclear potential energy, the potential energy of the particles inside an atomic nucleus.

Nuclear reaction, a process in which nuclei or nuclear particles interact, resulting in products
different from the initial ones; see also nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.

Radioactive decay, the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit
subatomic particles.

The energy of inter-atomic or chemical bonds, which holds atoms together in compounds.

Atomic energy is the source of Nuclear power, which uses sustained nuclear fission to generate heat
and electricity.

Nuclear binding energy is the energy required to split the nucleus of an atom into its
component parts. The component parts areneutrons and protons, which are collectively
called nucleons. The binding energy of nuclei is usually a positive number, since most
nuclei require net energy to separate them into individual protons and neutrons. Thus,
the mass of an atom's nucleus is usually less than the sum of the individual masses of
the constituent protons and neutrons when separated. This notable difference is a measure
of the nuclear binding energy, which is a result of forces that hold the nucleus together.
During the splitting of the nucleus, some of the mass of the nucleus (i.e. some nucleons)
gets converted into huge amounts of energy (according to Einstein's equation E=mc 2) and
thus this mass is removed from the total mass of the original particles, and the mass is
missing in the resulting nucleus. This missing mass is known as the mass defect, and
represents the energy released when the nucleus is formed.
The term nuclear binding energy may also refer to the energy balance in processes in which
the nucleus splits into fragments composed of more than one nucleon, and in this case the
binding energies for the fragments, as compared to the whole, will be higher. If new binding
energy is available when light nuclei fuse, or when heavy nuclei split, either of these
processes result in releases of the binding energy. This energy, available as nuclear
energy, can be used to produce electricity (nuclear power) or as anuclear weapon. When a
large nucleus splits into pieces, excess energy is emitted as photons (gamma rays) and as
kinetic energy of a number of different ejected particles (nuclear fission products).

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production

of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is
the most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global
electricity generation 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010,[1] and is
expected to increase about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.
Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32
percent of global hydropower in 2010. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with
721 terawatt-hours of production in 2010, representing around 17 percent of domestic
electricity use. There are now four hydroelectricity stations larger than 10 GW: the Three
Gorges Dam andXiluodu Dam in China, Itaipu Dam across the Brazil/Paraguay border,
and Guri Dam in Venezuela.[1]
The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a competitive source of renewable
electricity. The average cost of electricity from a hydro station larger than 10 megawatts is 3
to 5 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour.[1] It is also a flexible source of electricity since the amount
produced by the station can be changed up or down very quickly to adapt to changing
energy demands. However, damming interrupts the flow of rivers and can harm local
ecosystems, and building large dams and reservoirs often involves displacing people and
wildlife.[1] Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste,
and has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO
2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants.[2]

Hydropower has been used since ancient times to grind flour and perform other tasks.
In the mid-1770s, French engineer Bernard Forest de Blidor published Architecture
Hydraulique which described vertical- and horizontal-axis hydraulic machines. By the
late 19th century, the electrical generator was developed and could now be coupled
with hydraulics.[5] The growing demand for theIndustrial Revolution would drive
development as well.[6] In 1878 the world's first hydroelectric power scheme was
developed atCragside in Northumberland, England by William George Armstrong. It was
used to power a single arc lamp in his art gallery.[7] The old Schoelkopf Power Station
No. 1 near Niagara Falls in the U.S. side began to produce electricity in 1881. The
first Edisonhydroelectric power station, the Vulcan Street Plant, began operating
September 30, 1882, in Appleton, Wisconsin, with an output of about 12.5
kilowatts.[8] By 1886 there were 45 hydroelectric power stations in the U.S. and Canada.
By 1889 there were 200 in the U.S. alone.[5]

Wind power or wind energy is the energy extracted from wind using wind turbines to
produce electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping,
or sails to propel ships. Wind power, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable,
widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and uses
little land.[1]The effects on the environment are generally less problematic than those from
other power sources.
Large wind farms consist of hundreds of individual wind turbines which are connected to
the electric power transmissionnetwork. According to the recent EU analysis for new
constructions, onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electricity, competitive with or in
many places cheaper than coal, gas or fossil fuel plants.[2][3][4] Offshore wind is steadier and
stronger than on land, and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and
maintenance costs are considerably higher. Small onshore wind farms can feed some
energy into the grid or provide electricity to isolated off-grid locations.[5]
Wind power is very consistent from year to year but has significant variation over shorter
time scales. As the proportion of windpower in a region increases, a need to upgrade the
grid, and a lowered ability to supplant conventional production can occur.[6][7] Power
management techniques such as having excess capacity storage, geographically
distributed turbines, dispatchable backing sources, storage such as pumped-storage
hydroelectricity, exporting and importing power to neighboring areas or reducing demand
when wind production is low, can greatly mitigate these problems. [8] In addition,weather
forecasting permits the electricity network to be readied for the predictable variations in
production that occur.[9][10]
As of 2013, Denmark is generating more than a third of its electricity from wind and 83
countries around the world are using wind power to supply the electricity grid. [11][12][13] Wind
power capacity has expanded rapidly to 336 GW in June 2014, and wind energy production
was around 4% of total worldwide electricity usage, and growing rapidly. [14]
Wind power has been used as long as humans have put sails into the wind. For more than
two millennia wind-powered machines have ground grain and pumped water. Wind power
was widely available and not confined to the banks of fast-flowing streams, or later,
requiring sources of fuel. Wind-powered pumps drained the polders of the Netherlands, and
in arid regions such as the American mid-west or the Australian outback, wind
pumps provided water for live stock and steam engines.

Electrical energy is energy newly derived from electrical potential energy. When
loosely used to describe energy absorbed or delivered by an electrical circuit (for
example, one provided by an electric power utility) "electrical energy" refers to
energy which has been converted from electrical potential energy. This energy is
supplied by the combination of electric current andelectrical potential that is
delivered by the circuit. At the point that this electrical potential energy has been
converted to another type of energy, it ceases to be electrical potential energy.
Thus, all electrical energy is potential energy before it is delivered to the end-use.
Once converted from potential energy, electrical energy can always be described
as another type of energy (heat, light, motion, etc.).It is easy to transmit and use.
Electrical energy is energy that is in charged particles in an electric field.
Electricity generated[edit]
Main article: Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from
other forms of energy.
The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the
1820s and early 1830s by the British scientistMichael Faraday. His basic method
is still used today: electricity is generated by the movement of a loop of wire, or
disc of copper between the poles of a magnet.[1]
For electric utilities, it is the first process in the delivery of electricity to
consumers. The other processes, electricity transmission, distribution, and
electrical power storage and recovery using pumped-storage methods are
normally carried out by the electric power industry.
Electricity is most often generated at a power station by
electromagnetically generators, primarily driven by heat engines fueled by
chemical combustion or nuclear fission but also by other means such as
the kinetic energy of flowing water and wind. There are many other technologies
that can be and are used to generate electricity such as
solarphotovoltaics and geothermal power.

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range of everevolving technologies such as solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar
architecture and artificial photosynthesis.[1][2]
It is an important source of renewable energy and its technologies are broadly characterized
as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture and distribute
solar energy or convert it into solar power. Active solar techniques include the use
of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power and solar water heating to harness the
energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials
with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces
that naturally circulate air.
In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable,
inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will
increase countries energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and
mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the
costs of mitigatingglobal warming, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These
advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment
should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be
widely shared".[1]
The Earth receives 174 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation (insolation) at the
upper atmosphere.[3] Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest is
absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses. The spectrum of solar light at the Earth's
surface is mostly spread across the visible and near-infrared ranges with a small part in
the near-ultraviolet.[4]
Earth's land surface, oceans and atmosphere absorb solar radiation, and this raises their
temperature. Warm air containing evaporated water from the oceans rises,
causing atmospheric circulation or convection. When the air reaches a high altitude, where
the temperature is low, water vapor condenses into clouds, which rain onto the Earth's
surface, completing the water cycle. The latent heat of water condensation amplifies
convection, producing atmospheric phenomena such as wind, cyclones and anticyclones.[5] Sunlight absorbed by the oceans and land masses keeps the surface at an
average temperature of 14 C.[6] By photosynthesis green plants convert solar energy
into chemical energy, which produces food, wood and the biomass from which fossil fuels
are derived.[7]