Future Energy

Future Energy: What Do I Already Know About This?  From Sunlight to Fusion PlasmaSeries 'In Twelve Evenings' Book8Vita HarwoodTest your knowledge!Where will our energy come from when electricity has to power more of transport, heating, industry, and everyday life? And what happens when the sun sets, the wind drops, or demand suddenly rises?Future Energy: From Sunlight to Fusion Plasma is a twelve-lesson science course for curious readers aged 15 and up. It begins with the basics of energy and power, then follows the real engineering questions that shape tomorrow’s energy systems. You will see how solar cells and wind turbines work, what nuclear fission can and cannot do, why fusion is so difficult, how batteries and hydrogen store energy, where geothermal and hydropower fit, and why the electricity grid may be the most important machine you never see.The course also looks at the less visible side of 'clean energy': copper, lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, land, water, transmission lines, flexible demand, and the need to keep supply and demand balanced every second.Each lesson includes key terms, a scientist or engineer portrait, a verified surprise, a ten-question test, and a practical exercise. The final challenge asks you to build and stress-test your own Energy System 2050.No miracle technology is crowned the winner. Instead, you learn how to ask the questions that make an energy system work.