Energy and Civilization

Energy and Civilization

Author: Vaclav Smil

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 564

ISBN-13: 0262536161

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A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.


Heat and Light

Heat and Light

Author: Jennifer Haigh

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2016-05-03

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0062199080

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Acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Haigh returns to the Pennsylvania town at the center of her iconic novel Baker Towers in this ambitious, achingly human story of modern America and the conflicting forces at its heart—a bold, moving drama of hope and desperation, greed and power, big business and small-town families. Forty years ago, Bakerton coal fueled the country. Then the mines closed, and the town wore away like a bar of soap. Now Bakerton has been granted a surprise third act: it sits squarely atop the Marcellus Shale, a massive deposit of natural gas. To drill or not to drill? Prison guard Rich Devlin leases his mineral rights to finance his dream of farming. He doesn’t count on the truck traffic and nonstop noise, his brother’s skepticism or the paranoia of his wife, Shelby, who insists the water smells strange and is poisoning their frail daughter. Meanwhile his neighbors, organic dairy farmers Mack and Rena, hold out against the drilling—until a passionate environmental activist disrupts their lives. Told through a cast of characters whose lives are increasingly bound by the opposing interests that underpin the national debate, Heat and Light depicts a community blessed and cursed by its natural resources. Soaring and ambitious, it zooms from drill rig to shareholders’ meeting to the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to the ruined landscape of the “strippins,” haunting reminders of Pennsylvania’s past energy booms. This is a dispatch from a forgotten America—a work of searing moral clarity from one of the finest writers of her generation, a courageous and necessary book.


University Physics

University Physics

Author: Samuel J. Ling

Publisher:

Published: 2017-12-19

Total Pages: 818

ISBN-13: 9789888407613

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University Physics is designed for the two- or three-semester calculus-based physics course. The text has been developed to meet the scope and sequence of most university physics courses and provides a foundation for a career in mathematics, science, or engineering. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of physics and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and to the world around them. Due to the comprehensive nature of the material, we are offering the book in three volumes for flexibility and efficiency. Coverage and Scope Our University Physics textbook adheres to the scope and sequence of most two- and three-semester physics courses nationwide. We have worked to make physics interesting and accessible to students while maintaining the mathematical rigor inherent in the subject. With this objective in mind, the content of this textbook has been developed and arranged to provide a logical progression from fundamental to more advanced concepts, building upon what students have already learned and emphasizing connections between topics and between theory and applications. The goal of each section is to enable students not just to recognize concepts, but to work with them in ways that will be useful in later courses and future careers. The organization and pedagogical features were developed and vetted with feedback from science educators dedicated to the project. VOLUME II Unit 1: Thermodynamics Chapter 1: Temperature and Heat Chapter 2: The Kinetic Theory of Gases Chapter 3: The First Law of Thermodynamics Chapter 4: The Second Law of Thermodynamics Unit 2: Electricity and Magnetism Chapter 5: Electric Charges and Fields Chapter 6: Gauss's Law Chapter 7: Electric Potential Chapter 8: Capacitance Chapter 9: Current and Resistance Chapter 10: Direct-Current Circuits Chapter 11: Magnetic Forces and Fields Chapter 12: Sources of Magnetic Fields Chapter 13: Electromagnetic Induction Chapter 14: Inductance Chapter 15: Alternating-Current Circuits Chapter 16: Electromagnetic Waves


Exploring Heat Light Sound Energy

Exploring Heat Light Sound Energy

Author: Shweta Sinha

Publisher: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Published: 2016-09-15

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13: 8179936384

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The universe is full of energy from the amazing power of the sun to the food we eat. Energy makes things work. Did you know heat, light, and sound are different forms of energy? How do these various forms of energy affect our everyday lives? Light is energy you can see, heat is energy you can feel, and sound is energy you can hear. Exploring Heat Light Sound Energy explains the various forms of energy and its relation with the environment Follow the questions and answers and learn interesting facts and get active with easy-to-do science experiments.


Annual Report

Annual Report

Author: New York (State). Public Service Commission. 2nd district

Publisher:

Published: 1918

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13:

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