Chapter 1, Section 2
Energy
Energy is necessary to meet the needs of a modern society. It is used to heat buildings, manufacture goods, and process foods. It is used to transport people and goods between locations. With population growth and more industrialization around the globe, the demands for energy continue to increase. There are two ways to meet the demand for energy—conserve energy resources and produce more energy. Chemists play an essential role in finding ways to conserve energy, produce energy, and store energy.
Conservation
One of the easiest ways to conserve energy is through the use of insulation. Much of the energy consumed is used to keep houses warm and freezers cold. Insulation acts as a barrier to heat flow from the inside to the outside of a house or from the outside to the inside of a freezer. The foam used in drink cups provides excellent insulation because it contains pockets of trapped air. One of the most exciting modern insulation materials devised by chemists is SEAgel, which is a foam made from seaweed. SEAgel is very lightweight. In fact, SEAgel is so light that it can float on soap bubbles, as shown in Figure 1.7.
Figure 1.7 This insulation is light enough to float on soap bubbles yet is very effective at preventing heat transfer.
Production
The burning of coal, petroleum, and natural gas is a major source of energy. These materials are called fossil fuels because they formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals. Scientists are always looking for new sources of energy because the supply of fossil fuels is limited. One intriguing possibility is fuels obtained from plants. Oil from the soybeans shown in Figure 1.8 is used to make biodiesel. Regular diesel fuel is a petroleum product that produces an irritating black exhaust when it burns. When biodiesel burns, the exhaust smells like French fries!
Figure 1.8 Oil from soybeans can be used in a substitute for regular diesel fuel. Predicting The supply of diesel fuel is limited. Is the supply of soybeans limited?
Storage
Batteries are devices that use chemicals to store energy that will be released as electric current when the batteries are used. Batteries vary in size, power, and hours of useful operation. For some applications, it is important to have batteries that can be recharged rather than thrown away. One application that benefits from rechargeable batteries is cordless tools. These tools were first developed for NASA. Astronauts in the Apollo program needed a way to drill beneath the Moon’s surface to collect samples. Other devices that use rechargeable batteries are digital cameras, wireless phones, and laptop computers.
