This glossary is provided as a tool for studying
this chapter. Keep it handy while you read, in order to find definitions
of unfamiliar words, or of familiar words that may have an unfamiliar meaning
in the context of this chapter.
If
you do not find the term you are looking for on this page, try the complete
glossary.
-
Acid mine drainage: Water leaving a surface or underground mine
enriched in acid, usually surfuric acid.
-
Active solar power: Solar energy gathered by a device that collects
this energy and mechanically distributes it to where it is needed.
-
Anthracite: The highest rank of coal, most modified from its original
plant form.
-
Augur mining: A coal-mining technique using a screw that extracts
coal as it is drilled into a deposit.
-
Bituminous coal: A rank of coal below anthracite, characterized
by a high degree of conversion from the original plant matter and a high
heat content per unit weight.
-
British thermal unit (BTU): The amount of energy required to raise
the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at or near
39.2ºF.
-
Centralized energy: An energy conversion technology in which the
key conversion (such as combustion of coal to create electricity) is made
at a large scale at a single site (such as a power plant).
-
Coal gasification: A chemical process converting coal to a gas that
can then be used in place of natural gas.
-
Crude oil: Unrefined petroleum as it is extracted from the ground;
it is liquid at normal ambient temperatures.
-
Decentralized energy source: An energy conversion system characterized
by numerous small-scale facilities located at or near the end-use site.
Photovoltaic cells are an example.
-
Dry rock geothermal energy: A method of extracting heat from the
earth by pumping water through hot rocks.
-
Energy conservation: Using energy resources in such a way as to
minimize energy consumption in relation to benefits gained.
-
Fission: A process of splitting heavy atoms of uranium or plutonium
into lighter elements, thereby releasing energy.
-
Fusion: The combination of two hydrogen atoms to create a helium
atom, yielding energy.
-
Geologic estimate of resource: An estimate of the amount of a mineral
resource in the earth based on information about the concentration and
distribution of that mineral in rocks, without regard for the economics
of extraction.
-
Geopressurized resource: A geothermal resource in which hot groundwater
is pressurized by natural forces.
-
Geothermal energy: Energy extracted from heat contained in rocks
near the earth's surface.
-
Heavy-water reactor: A nuclear fission reactor using deuterium-enriched
water to moderate the fission reaction.
-
High-temperature gas-cooled reactor: A nuclear fission reactor using
helium gas to transfer heat from the core to a steam generator.
-
Hydroelectric power: Electricity generated by passage of runoff-derived
water through a turbine, usually at a dam.
-
Kerogen: A waxy hydrocarbon found in oil shale.
-
Landfill: A land-based disposal method, in which waste is deposited
in layers and covered with earth.
-
Light-water reactor: A type of nuclear power plant that uses ordinary
water as the cooling medium.
-
Lignite: A rank of coal characterized by a relatively low degree
of modification of plant matter.
-
Liquefaction: Conversion of coal into a liquid hydrocarbon that
can be transported by pipeline and burned as a liquid.
-
Liquid natural gas (LNG): Natural gaseous hydrocarbons that are
pressurized and cooled in order to be stored and/or transported in liquid
form.
-
Liquid-metal fast-breeder reactor: A nuclear fission reactor moderated
and cooled by liquid sodium, and used to convert nonfissionable material
such as uranium_238 to fissionable material such as plutonium_289.
-
Mined-land reclamation: The return of land disturbed by mining to
a more productive condition, usually a use similar to that existing before
mining took place.
-
Natural gas: Gaseous hydrocarbons extracted from subterranean reservoirs
that hold gas at normal ambient temperatures.
-
Oil: Hydrocarbons found in the earth, liquid at normal ambient temperatures.
-
Overburden: Rock and soil that lie above coal or other mineral deposits
and that must be removed to strip-mine the coal.
-
Passive solar power: The collection of solar energy as heat at the
end-use site, without any mechanical redistribution or storage of the energy.
-
Peat: The accumulated remains of plants, found in swampy or cool,
humid areas. It is the initial material from which coal may be formed;
may be dried and used for fuel.
-
Performance-based resource estimate: An estimate of the quantity
of a mineral deposit available in the earth based primarily on the ability
of prevailing technology to extract the mineral under existing and probable
future economic conditions.
-
Petajoule: A unit of energy equal to 1015 [ten to the 15], or 1,000,000,000,000,000
joules, or 947,800,000,000 British thermal units.
-
Photovoltaic cell: A semiconductor-based device used to convert
sunlight directly to electricity.
-
Quad: A measure of energy use, equal to one quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000)
British thermal units.
-
Radioactivity: The emission of particles by the decay of atoms of
certain substances.
-
Renewable energy: Energy resources that are produced naturally as
fast as they are consumed, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.
-
Renewable resource: A resource that can be depleted but will be
replenished by natural processes. Forests and fisheries are examples.
-
Resource recovery: Separation of waste into recyclable components
such as metal, glass, and heat from incineration.
-
Shale oil: see also kerogen. A petroleum-like substance found in
high concentrations in some shale rocks.
-
Spent fuel: Nuclear material that is no longer capable of sustaining
the fission process.
-
Strip-mining or surface mining: Extraction of a mineral from the
ground by excavation at the ground surface.
-
Subbituminous coal: A rank of coal intermediate between lignite
and bituminous coal.
-
Subsidence: Sinking of the land surface caused by removal of water,
oil, or minerals from beneath the surface.
-
Sulfur content: The amount of sulfur found in coal. Combustion of
coal with a high sulfur content results in emissions of sulfur oxides,
which contribute to acid precipitation.
-
Synfuel: A contraction of synthetic fuel; liquid or gaseous fossil
fuel manufactured from other fuels that are less useful as found in nature.
-
Tar sand: Sandy deposits containing heavy oil or tar. The sand must
be heated to extract the oil.
-
Tidal power: Energy generated by using tidal water-level differences
to drive a turbine
-
Underground mining: A mineral extraction technique consisting of
subsurface excavation with minimal disturbance of the ground surface.
-
Uranium: An element, two isotopes of which (235U and 238U) are important
in atomic energy production.
|