How does the sun transmit energy from millions of miles away into the Earth system? 'Energy' and 'power' are often confused, but aren't the same. Why do we say 'power plants' instead of 'energy plants'? How can the efficiency of an energy transformation be calculated? Use thermodynamics and the concept of energy quality to explain why we can only burn a gallon of oil as fuel once. What can inputs, outputs, steady states, and feedback loops tell us about the health of environmental systems? Are positive feedbacks always good? Are negative feedbacks always bad? What's the difference between them?

Question

Physics

Clara Ball

13 December, 04:03

How does the sun transmit energy from millions of miles away into the Earth system? 'Energy' and 'power' are often confused, but aren't the same. Why do we say 'power plants' instead of 'energy plants'? How can the efficiency of an energy transformation be calculated? Use thermodynamics and the concept of energy quality to explain why we can only burn a gallon of oil as fuel once. What can inputs, outputs, steady states, and feedback loops tell us about the health of environmental systems? Are positive feedbacks always good? Are negative feedbacks always bad? What's the difference between them?

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Answers (1)

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Susan Hill · Answer 1

Energy from sun travels to the earth by radiation of waves. Energy is the capacity to do the work whereas power is the rate of doing work or the rate of energy transfer. Energy always transforms from higher grade to a lower grade.

Positive feedback are not good when it disturbs the stability too much over a wide range.

No, negative feedback are not always bad because they enhance the stability of our system, resist the change in a system making it consistent and have a narrower range of variation.

Explanation:

The energy from the sun travels a huge distance in vacuum and atmosphere.

The solar energy travels to the earth in the form of electromagnetic radiations which do not require any medium of transmission and are capable of travelling in vacuum by the mode called radiation. In this mode the packets of energy get directly transmitted from the source to its surroundings. This packet of energy is called quanta. Energy is the capacity to do work. Everything that we see and feel around us is some sort of energy. Every matter is the condensed form of energy the other forms that we cannot touch or feel is the wave form of energy. The wave form of energy stays in two form either stored in a mass or it is in transition. Now the concept of power arises form the energy in motion, power is defined as the rate of doing work or the rate of energy transfer. We usually use the term power for the energy in motion. We can burn a gallon of fuel only once because it undergoes a chemical change and the chemical changes are mostly permanent in nature. There is a certain direction to which the energy can flow spontaneously. When we burn the fuel then the stored chemical energy of the fuel gets converted into heat and light and the heat energy released during the combustion of the fuel is sufficient to further provide the heat of combustion of fuel. Energy always transforms from high grade to the lower grade and the converse is not possible spontaneously.

Positive feedback are not good when it disturbs the stability too much over a wide range.

No, negative feedback are not always bad because they enhance the stability of our system, resist the change in a system making it consistent and have a narrower range of variation.