This video is amazing! And ALSO a great example of the difference between energy (or work) and power... And that let's us explore why it is so damned hard to wean ourselves from fossil fuels - as we must.
https://twitter.com/ade__n/status/1347395092953313286
Work is the energy transferred to or from an object via the application of force along a displacement. It is represented by joules.
Power is joules *per second*, in other words, it is energy transferred over time.
Power is joules *per second*, in other words, it is energy transferred over time.
You can cook that chicken slowly in the oven, transferring energy slowly. Or you can slap all that energy into a chicken instantly! That is power.
Coal, oil and gas store a lot of energy. But also, via combustion, that energy can be released fast.
That power is great for driving cars but also tractors, airplanes, massive shipping vessels. And for heating iron fast enough to melt it and to make steel.
That power is great for driving cars but also tractors, airplanes, massive shipping vessels. And for heating iron fast enough to melt it and to make steel.
The fossil fuel era must end. Urgently. ~4 billion years of life on Earth bequeathed us a fantastic source of energy and power.
But sucking it out of the ground or digging it up did not ask much of human creativity. We exploited it rather than leveraging it for tomorrow.
But sucking it out of the ground or digging it up did not ask much of human creativity. We exploited it rather than leveraging it for tomorrow.
To move past fossil fuels, we must recognise that alternatives exist but not pretend they are easy. It requires creativity, ingenuity, investment and change.
We should have started long ago. We accelerate now. We can do this but we have to move with far greater urgency.
We should have started long ago. We accelerate now. We can do this but we have to move with far greater urgency.
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