A History Of Energy

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Energy and Civilization

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262536161
Total Pages : 564 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy and Civilization by : Vaclav Smil

Download or read book Energy and Civilization written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Energy

Author : Richard Rhodes
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1501105361
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy by : Richard Rhodes

Download or read book Energy written by Richard Rhodes and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “meticulously researched” (The New York Times Book Review) examination of energy transitions over time and an exploration of the current challenges presented by global warming, a surging world population, and renewable energy—from Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author Richard Rhodes. People have lived and died, businesses have prospered and failed, and nations have risen to world power and declined, all over energy challenges. Through an unforgettable cast of characters, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes explains how wood gave way to coal and coal made room for oil, as we now turn to natural gas, nuclear power, and renewable energy. “Entertaining and informative…a powerful look at the importance of science” (NPR.org), Rhodes looks back on five centuries of progress, through such influential figures as Queen Elizabeth I, King James I, Benjamin Franklin, Herman Melville, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford. In his “magisterial history…a tour de force of popular science” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Rhodes shows how breakthroughs in energy production occurred; from animal and waterpower to the steam engine, from internal-combustion to the electric motor. He looks at the current energy landscape, with a focus on how wind energy is competing for dominance with cast supplies of coal and natural gas. He also addresses the specter of global warming, and a population hurtling towards ten billion by 2100. Human beings have confronted the problem of how to draw energy from raw material since the beginning of time. Each invention, each discovery, each adaptation brought further challenges, and through such transformations, we arrived at where we are today. “A beautifully written, often inspiring saga of ingenuity and progress…Energy brings facts, context, and clarity to a key, often contentious subject” (Booklist, starred review).

A History of Energy Flows

Author : Anthony N. Penna
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429960735
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Energy Flows by : Anthony N. Penna

Download or read book A History of Energy Flows written by Anthony N. Penna and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-18 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a global and historical perspective of energy flows during the last millennium. The search for sustainable energy is a key issue dominating today’s energy regime. This book details the historical evolution of energy, following the overlapping and slow flowing transitions from one regime to another. In doing so it seeks to provide insight into future energy transitions and the means of utilizing sustainable energy sources to reduce humanity’s fossil fuel footprint. The book begins with an examination of the earliest and most basic forms of energy use, namely, that of humans metabolizing food in order to work, with the first transition following the domestication and breeding of horses and other animals. The book also examines energy sources key to development during the industrialization and mechanization, such as wood and coal, as well as more recent sources, such as crude oil and nuclear energy. The book then assesses energy flows that are at the forefront of sustainability, by examining green sources, such as solar, wind power and hydropower. While it is easy to see energy flows in terms of “revolutions,” transitions have taken centuries to evolve, and transitions are never fully global, as, for example, wood remains the primary fuel source for cooking in much of the developing world. This book not only demonstrates the longevity of energy transitions but also discusses the possibility for reducing transition times when technological developments provide inexpensive and safe energy sources that can reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, sustainable energy and environmental and energy history.

A History of Energy

Author : Bent Sorensen
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136487891
Total Pages : 551 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (364 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Energy by : Bent Sorensen

Download or read book A History of Energy written by Bent Sorensen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-02-28 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this seminal book, Bent Sørensen views human society as driven by the quest for, and control of, energy. From allowing our prehistoric ancestors to survive harsh northern European winters to more recent global energy security and climate concerns, the control and effective harnessing of energy sources has played a central role in human development. Using the written and archaeological record and, from earlier times, inferring the energy needs of humans through modeling of climatological conditions and other indirect parameters, Sørensen unwraps this previously little-explored field. Based on detailed studies of northern Europe – and in particular the case of Denmark – the focus moves from the stone age, through the development of agriculture and trade, migration and exploration, medieval society and the renaissance, into industrial times and present-day debates around the transition to low-carbon forms of energy supply. This riveting examination of a nascent field of study provides a new perspective for historians and those wishing to gain a deeper understanding of the background to present-day energy debates.

Energy In World History

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429720122
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (297 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy In World History by : Vaclav Smil

Download or read book Energy In World History written by Vaclav Smil and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-04-15 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every human activity entails the conversion of energy. Changes in the fundamental sources of energy, and in the use of energy sources, are a basic dimension of the evolution of society. Our appreciation of the significance of these processes is essential to a fuller understanding of world history. Vaclav Smil offers a comprehensive look at the role

The Science of Energy

Author : Crosbie Smith
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226764207
Total Pages : 424 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (642 download)

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Book Synopsis The Science of Energy by : Crosbie Smith

Download or read book The Science of Energy written by Crosbie Smith and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although we take it for granted today, the concept of "energy" transformed nineteenth-century physics. In The Science of Energy, Crosbie Smith shows how a North British group of scientists and engineers, including James Joule, James Clerk Maxwell, William and James Thomson, Fleeming Jenkin, and P. G. Tait, developed energy physics to solve practical problems encountered by Scottish shipbuilders and marine engineers; to counter biblical revivalism and evolutionary materialism; and to rapidly enhance their own scientific credibility. Replacing the language and concepts of classical mechanics with terms such as "actual" and "potential" energy, the North British group conducted their revolution in physics so astutely and vigorously that the concept of "energy"—a valuable commodity in the early days of industrialization—became their intellectual property. Smith skillfully places this revolution in its scientific and cultural context, exploring the actual creation of scientific knowledge during one of the most significant episodes in the history of physics.

Wind Energy in America

Author : Robert W. Righter
Publisher : University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN 13 : 9780806128122
Total Pages : 402 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (281 download)

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Book Synopsis Wind Energy in America by : Robert W. Righter

Download or read book Wind Energy in America written by Robert W. Righter and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relates the history of the efforts to capture the power of wind for electricity, from the first European windmills to California's wind farms of the late twentieth century.

Energy Transitions

Author : Vaclav Smil
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 031338178X
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (133 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Transitions by : Vaclav Smil

Download or read book Energy Transitions written by Vaclav Smil and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-05-26 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This bold and controversial argument shows why energy transitions are inherently complex and prolonged affairs, and how ignoring this fact raises unrealistic expectations that the United States and other global economies can be weaned quickly from a primary dependency on fossil fuels. Energy transitions are fundamental processes behind the evolution of human societies: they both drive and are driven by technical, economic, and social changes. In a bold and provocative argument, Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects describes the history of modern society's dependence on fossil fuels and the prospects for the transition to a nonfossil world. Vaclav Smil, who has published more on various aspects of energy than any working scientist, makes it clear that this transition will not be accomplished easily, and that it cannot be accomplished within the timetables established by the Obama administration. The book begins with a survey of the basic properties of modern energy systems. It then offers detailed explanations of universal patterns of energy transitions, the peculiarities of changing energy use in the world's leading economies, and the coming shifts from fossil fuels to renewable conversions. Specific cases of these transitions are analyzed for eight of the world's leading energy consumers. The author closes with perspectives on the nature and pace of the coming energy transition to renewable conversions.

A History of Thermodynamics

Author : Ingo Müller
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3540462279
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (44 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Thermodynamics by : Ingo Müller

Download or read book A History of Thermodynamics written by Ingo Müller and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-07-16 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers an easy to read, all-embracing history of thermodynamics. It describes the long development of thermodynamics, from the misunderstood and misinterpreted to the conceptually simple and extremely useful theory that we know today. Coverage identifies not only the famous physicists who developed the field, but also engineers and scientists from other disciplines who helped in the development and spread of thermodynamics as well.

To Have and Have Not

Author : Brian C. Black
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1538105047
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (381 download)

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Book Synopsis To Have and Have Not by : Brian C. Black

Download or read book To Have and Have Not written by Brian C. Black and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-05-15 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title Written by a leading scholar, this essential introduction to the history of energy traces one of humans’ most basic ecological interactions: energy exchange. From fire to agriculture, water wheels to electric dynamos, the rise in intensity led humans to define a new “high energy” existence during the twentieth century. Industrialization and consumption increased the connection between energy and economic and political power, clarifying its importance throughout the world wars and into the Cold War. To Have and Have Not reveals a world in which energy supply now defines global standing, starkly revealing the connection between history and current events that perfectly situates our modern conundrum of a future without fossil fuels. Climate change and the supply of sustainable energy now permeates our modern policy making as we bear witness to the waning years of energy borrowed from the distant past. Brian Black argues that our history of growing energy reliance and past transitions is essential context for understanding our inevitable shift to cleaner energy. Placing this story within the current, rapidly changing historical discourse, this book is timely and persuasive as it lays out our current transition from fossil fuels.

Power Trip

Author : Michael E. Webber
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 1541644387
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (416 download)

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Book Synopsis Power Trip by : Michael E. Webber

Download or read book Power Trip written by Michael E. Webber and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A global tour of energy--the builder of human civilization and also its greatest threat. Energy is humanity's single most important resource. In fact, as energy expert Michael E. Webber argues in Power Trip, the story of how societies rise can be told largely as the story of how they manage energy sources through time. In 2019, as we face down growing demand for and accumulating environmental impacts from energy, we are at a crossroads and the stakes are high. But history shows us that energy's great value is that it allows societies to reinvent themselves. Power Trip explores how energy has transformed societies of the past and offers wisdom for today's looming energy crisis. There is no magic bullet; energy advances always come with costs. Scientific innovation needs public support. Energy initiatives need to be tailored to individual societies. We must look for long-term solutions. Our current energy crisis is real, but it is solvable. We have the power.

When They Hid the Fire

Author : Daniel French
Publisher : University of Pittsburgh Press
ISBN 13 : 0822981939
Total Pages : 299 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (229 download)

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Book Synopsis When They Hid the Fire by : Daniel French

Download or read book When They Hid the Fire written by Daniel French and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2017-04-17 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When They Hid the Fire examines the American social perceptions of electricity as an energy technology that were adopted between the mid-nineteenth and early decades of the twentieth centuries. Arguing that both technical and cultural factors played a role, Daniel French shows how electricity became an invisible and abstract form of energy in American society. As technological advancements allowed for an increasing physical distance between power generation and power consumption, the commodity of electricity became consciously detached from the environmentally destructive fire and coal that produced it. This development, along with cultural forces, led the public to define electricity as mysterious, utopian, and an alternative to nearby fire-based energy sources. With its adoption occurring simultaneously with Progressivism and consumerism, electricity use was encouraged and seen as an integral part of improvement and modernity, leading Americans to culturally construct electricity as unlimited and environmentally inconsequential—a newfound "basic right" of life in the United States.

Energy Capitals

Author : Joseph A. Pratt
Publisher : University of Pittsburgh Press
ISBN 13 : 0822979225
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (229 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Capitals by : Joseph A. Pratt

Download or read book Energy Capitals written by Joseph A. Pratt and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2015-03-23 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fossil fuels propelled industries and nations into the modern age and continue to powerfully influence economies and politics today. As Energy Capitals demonstrates, the discovery and exploitation of fossil fuels has proven to be a mixed blessing in many of the cities and regions where it has occurred. With case studies from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Africa, and Australia, this volume views a range of older and more recent energy capitals, contrasts their evolutions, and explores why some capitals were able to influence global trends in energy production and distribution while others failed to control even their own destinies. Chapters show how local and national politics, social structures, technological advantages, education systems, capital, infrastructure, labor force, supply and demand, and other factors have affected the ability of a region to develop and control its own fossil fuel reserves. The contributors also view the environmental impact of energy industries and demonstrate how, in the depletion of reserves or a shift to new energy sources, regions have or have not been able to recover economically. The cities of Tampico, Mexico, and Port Gentil, Gabon, have seen their oil deposits exploited by international companies with little or nothing to show in return and at a high cost environmentally. At the opposite extreme, Houston, Texas, has witnessed great economic gain from its oil, natural gas, and petrochemical industries. Its growth, however, has been tempered by the immense strain on infrastructure and the human transformation of the natural environment. In another scenario, Perth, Australia, Calgary, Alberta, and Stavanger, Norway have benefitted as the closest established cities with administrative and financial assets for energy production that was developed hundreds of miles away. Whether coal, oil, or natural gas, the essays offer important lessons learned over time and future considerations for the best ways to capture the benefits of energy development while limiting the cost to local populations and environments.

Sources of Power

Author : Manfred Weissenbacher
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 0313356270
Total Pages : 940 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (133 download)

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Book Synopsis Sources of Power by : Manfred Weissenbacher

Download or read book Sources of Power written by Manfred Weissenbacher and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2009-09-30 with total page 940 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A landmark book rolls out a bold, new, energy-based theory of human history based on a simple, yet powerful law: whoever controls the world's effective energy supplies during a given energy age will inevitably dominate the economic, political, and cultural history of that age. The innovative theory articulated in Sources of Power: How Energy Forges Human History parses history into four ages: the foraging, agriculture, coal, and oil ages, each defined by the dominant source of power. Manfred Weissenbacher tests this sweeping theory against the panorama of world history, combining formidable powers of synthesis with a specialist's deep understanding of energy systems and technologies. After proving the operation of his law through history and into the present, Weissenbacher applies it to global geopolitical trends. He assesses the prospects of the various candidate technologies to succeed oil and charts future scenarios based on the distribution of energy reserves. Finally, he forecasts the fates of the American and Chinese empires in the twilight of the oil age: the United States as a mature superpower forced to deploy military might to occupy oilfields in the Middle East; China as an emerging superpower forced to deploy economic might to muscle in on the development of Third World oilfields.

Search for the Ultimate Energy Source

Author : Stephen O. Dean
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1461460379
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (614 download)

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Book Synopsis Search for the Ultimate Energy Source by : Stephen O. Dean

Download or read book Search for the Ultimate Energy Source written by Stephen O. Dean and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-01-05 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why has the clean, limitless energy promised by fusion always seemed just out of reach? Search for the Ultimate Energy Source: A History of the U.S. Fusion Energy Program, explains the fundamentals and concepts behind fusion power, and traces the development of fusion historically by decade—covering its history as dictated by US government policies, its major successes, and its prognosis for the future. The reader will gain an understanding of how the development of fusion has been shaped by changing government priorities as well as other hurdles currently facing realization of fusion power. Advance Praise for Search for the Ultimate Energy Source: “Dr. Dean has been uniquely involved in world fusion research for decades and, in this book, describes the complicated realities like few others possibly could.” -Robert L. Hirsch, a former director of the US fusion program, an Assistant Administrator of the US Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA); an executive at Exxon, Arco, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); and lead author of the book The Impending World Energy Mess (Apogee Prime Books, 2009). “In this book, Dr. Dean provides the many reasons why fusion has progressed more slowly than many had hoped. Budget is usually cited as the culprit, but policy is equally to blame. Facilities have been closed down before their jobs were done—or in some cases, even started. It seems this situation has become endemic in fusion, and if one thinks about it, in other nationally important Science and Technology initiatives as well.” -William R. Ellis, a former scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Associate Director of Research at the US Naval Research Laboratory, a vice president at Ebasco Services and at Raytheon, and chair of the US ITER Industry Council and the US ITER Industrial Consortium.

Energy Economics

Author : Roy L. Nersesian
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317511875
Total Pages : 652 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Energy Economics by : Roy L. Nersesian

Download or read book Energy Economics written by Roy L. Nersesian and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-02 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three quarters of our current electricity usage and transport methods are derived from fossil fuels and yet within two centuries these resources will dry up. Energy Economics covers the role of each fossil and renewable energy source in today’s world, providing the information and tools that will enable students to understand the finite nature of fossil fuels and the alternative solutions that are available. This textbook provides detailed examinations of key energy sources – both fossil fuels and renewables including oil, coal, solar, and wind power – and summarises how the current economics of energy evolved. Subsequent chapters explore issues around policy, technology and the possible future for each type of energy. In addition to this, readers are introduced to controversial topics including fracking and global warming in dedicated chapters on climate change and sustainability. Each chapter concludes with a series of tasks, providing example problems and projects in order to further explore the proposed issues. An accompanying companion website contains extensive additional material on the history of the major types of fuel as well as technical material relating to oil exploration, the development of solar power and historical environmental legislation. This textbook is an essential text for those who study energy economics, resource economics or energy policy.

The Future of Energy

Author : Brian F. Towler
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0128010657
Total Pages : 389 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of Energy by : Brian F. Towler

Download or read book The Future of Energy written by Brian F. Towler and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-05-31 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using the principle that extracting energy from the environment always involves some type of impact on the environment, The Future of Energy discusses the sources, technologies, and tradeoffs involved in meeting the world's energy needs. A historical, scientific, and technical background set the stage for discussions on a wide range of energy sources, including conventional fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal, as well as emerging renewable sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. Readers will learn that there are no truly "green" energy sources—all energy usage involves some tradeoffs—and will understand these tradeoffs and other issues involved in using each energy source. - Each potential energy source includes discussions of tradeoffs in economics, environmental, and policy implications - Examples and cases of implementing each technology are included throughout the book - Technical discussions are supported with equations, graphs, and tables - Includes discussions of carbon capture and sequestration as emerging technologies to manage carbon dioxide emissions