Rent 9780393081619 | Energy for Future Presidents : The Science Behind the Headlines

Summary Table of Contents

The author of Physics for Future Presidents returns to educate all of us on the most crucial conundrum facing the nation: energy.

The near-meltdown ofFukushima, the upheavals in the Middle East, the BP oil rig explosion, and thelooming reality of global warming have reminded the president and all U.S.citizens that nothing has more impact on our lives than the supply of anddemand for energy. Its procurement dominates our economy and foreign policymore than any other factor. But the energy question is more confusing,... MORE

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Introduction	p. 3
Energy Catastrophes	p. 9
Fukushima	p. 11
Meltdown	p. 11
Radioactive Release	p. 15
Radioactivity and Death	p. 17
The Denver Dose	p. 20
Bottom Line: What Should We Do?	p. 23
The Gulf Oil Spill	p. 26
The Dee... MOREpwater Horizon Accident	p. 29
Damage	p. 33
Iatrogenic Disease	p. 35
Global Warming and Climate Change	p. 38
A Brief Introduction to Global Warming	p. 39
Tipping Points	p. 50
Local Variability	p. 52
Hurricanes	p. 54
Tornadoes	p. 56
Polar Warming	p. 57
The Hockey Stick	p. 60
Sea Level Rise	p. 62
Assuming It Is a Threat-Can We Stop Global Warming?	p. 65
Geoengineering	p. 72
The Global-Warming Controversy	p. 73
The Energy Landscape	p. 77
Recycled Energy	p. 81
Energy Security	p. 82
The Natural-Gas Windfall	p. 87
Fracking and Horizontal Drilling	p. 93
Shale Gas Reserves	p. 96
Ocean Methane	p. 98
Liquid Energy Security	p. 102
Hubbert's Peak	p. 105
Shale Oil	p. 109
Energy Productivity	p. 112
Invest for a 17.8% Annual Return, Tax-Free, with No Risk	p. 114
Invest for a 209% Annual Return, Tax-Free, with No Risk	p. 118
Government Energy Productivity Policy	p. 119
Other Great Investments	p. 123
Cool Roofs	p. 123
More Efficient Autos	p. 124
Energy-Efficient Refrigerators	p. 126
The McKinsey Chart	p. 127
Feel-Good Measures That Don't Necessarily Work	p. 129
Buses	p. 130
Recycling Paper	p. 131
Power Blackouts	p. 131
The Smart Grid	p. 134
A Case Study: Smart Meters in California	p. 135
Alternative Energy	p. 139
Solar Surge	p. 145
The Physics of Sunlight	p. 145
Solar Thermal	p. 146
Photovoltaic Cells	p. 150
Silicon	p. 153
CdTe (Cadmium Telluride)	p. 154
CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide)	p. 155
Multijunction Cells	p. 157
Solar-Cell Summary	p. 158
Wind	p. 159
Energy Storage	p. 167
Batteries	p. 167
The Physics and Chemistry of Batteries	p. 169
The Future of Batteries	p. 170
Bottled Wind: Compressed-Air Energy Storage (CAES)	p. 171
Flywheels	p. 173
Supercapacitors	p. 176
Hydrogen and Fuel Cells	p. 177
Natural Gas	p. 177
The Coming Explosion of Nuclear Power	p. 179
Blowing Up	p. 180
Cost	p. 183
Small Modular Nuclear Reactors	p. 185
Running Out of Uranium?	p. 192
Fukushima Deaths	p. 193
Nuclear Waste Storage	p. 194
The Coming Nuclear Explosion	p. 197
Fusion	p. 199
Tokamak	p. 201
NIF, the National Ignition Facility	p. 205
Beam Fusion	p. 207
Muon Fusion	p. 210
Cold Fusion	p. 213
Biofuels	p. 219
Ethanol from Corn	p. 220
Biodegradable Is Bad?	p. 221
Pseudo-biofuels	p. 222
Ethanol from Cellulose	p. 223
Ethanol from Algae	p. 225
Synfuel and High-Tech Fossil Fuels	p. 227
Synfuel	p. 228
Coal Bed Methane	p. 231
Coal Bed Gasification	p. 231
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)	p. 233
Oil Sands	p. 234
Alternative Alternatives: Hydrogen, Geothermal, Tidal, and Wave Power	p. 236
Hydrogen	p. 236
Geothermal	p. 239
Tidal Power	p. 243
Wave Power	p. 246
Electric Automobiles	p. 248
The Electric Auto Fad	p. 250
Tesla Roadster	p. 251
Chevy Volt	p. 252
Nissan Leaf	p. 253
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles	p. 254
Lead-Acid Batteries	p. 255
Recharge Time	p. 256
Effective Miles per Gallon	p. 256
Ordinary Hybrids	p. 258
Battery Challenges	p. 259
Natural-Gas Automobiles	p. 261
Fuel Cells	p. 266
Clean Coal	p. 273
What is Energy?	p. 281
The Properties of Energy	p. 281
Energy in Foods, Fuels, and Objects	p. 281
Is Energy a Thing?	p. 282
The Meaning of Energy	p. 284
Energy as Taught to High School Students and College Freshmen	p. 285
Energy as Taught to Sophomores	p. 285
Energy as Taught to Juniors	p. 286
Energy as Taught to Seniors and Graduates	p. 286
The Beauty of Energy	p. 288
Advice for Future Presidents	p. 291
Energy Technology Policy	p. 294
Energy Productivity	p. 294
Natural Gas	p. 294
Shale Oil	p. 294
Synfuel	p. 295
Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids	p. 296
Nuclear	p. 296
Key Considerations	p. 297
Global Warming and China	p. 297
More on Energy Productivity	p. 299
Electric Power Grid and Venture Capitalism	p. 301
Subsidies	p. 301
Energy Catastrophes	p. 301
Beware	p. 302
Beware of Fads	p. 302
Beware of Risk-Benefit Calculations	p. 302
Beware of the Precautionary Principle	p. 303
Beware of Optimism Bias and Skepticism Bias	p. 303
Beware of Aphorisms	p. 304
Your Legacy	p. 305
Notes	p. 307
Credits	p. 323
Index	p. 327
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