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====== Energy ======

//Energy is the ability to perform mechanical work, to emit heat or to radiate
light.//

Energy is central in our lives: Without heat energy, there is no warm home, no hot shower,
no hot food. Our mobility also needs energy: when we walk or ride a bicycle, we convert
chemical energy absorbed by our food into kinetic energy. When we move &quot;by car&quot;,
chemical energy in the form of petrol or diesel is converted into kinetic energy. And
industrial production is only possible because machines are supplied with e.g. electrical
energy.

The availability of energy is central to our society and our economy. But the use of fossil
energy releases carbon in the form of carbon dioxide $CO_2$, which was bound millions of years
ago when coal, oil and natural gas were formed. $CO_2$ is the most important greenhouse gas
and contributes to global warming along with other greenhouse gases. For example, the
average temperature measured worldwide has risen by about 1 °C in the last hundred years.

In order to limit the globally observed temperature increase to 1.5 - 2.0 °C, emissions of
greenhouse gases, especially $CO_2$, must be drastically reduced. One possibility is to replace
fossil fuels with renewable energy. However, the availability of renewable energy forms such
as hydropower, wind energy, solar energy and bioenergy varies considerably. Although wind
and sun are available almost everywhere, they are subject to the weather and its
fluctuations, so that their exclusive use is only possible if energy can be stored in times of
surplus, e.g. as demonstrated here in a pumped storage power plant, in a lithium-ion battery
or as hydrogen. Energy is a central topic in the Environment and Energy BSc. course at Rhine-
Waal University of Applied Sciences. For example, how does electricity generation from
renewable energy or in a coal-fired power plant work? What possibilities are there for
storing energy and using it effectively?

===== Our Experiments on Energy =====

  * [[experiments:photovoltaic_system:start|Photovoltaic System]]
  * [[experiments:wind_turbine:start|Wind Turbine]]
  * [[experiments:hydropower_plant:start|Hydropower Plant]]
  * [[experiments:hydrogen:start|Hydrogen]]

|{{:experiments:energy:img_20200325_142458.jpg?direct&600|Figure 1}}|{{:experiments:energy:wasserkaftwerk.jpg?direct&600|Figure 2}}|{{:experiments:energy:wasserkraftwerk_mit_geoeffnetem_bypass.jpg?direct&600|Figure 3}}|

|{{:experiments:energy:p1030743.jpg?direct|Figure 4}}|{{:experiments:energy:p1040585.jpg?direct|Figure 5}}|
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