Heat and Energy

Heat and Temperature

On returning from school, when Ravi touched the iron gate of his house, he found it to
be extremely hot. Later, he touched other things made of iron present inside his house
and found that they were not hot. Then, he touched other substances (not made of iron)
present in his house to determine whether they were hot or cold. He listed the various
substances observed in the table given below.
Substances Hot/ Cold

Tea Hot
Coffee Hot
Ice Cold
Ice cream Cold
Cooked rice Hot
Frozen meat Cold

Try to make a table listing some other substances, which are present in your house and
classify them as hot or cold. But how do you decide whether a substance is hot or
cold? Can you always tell whether a substance is hot or cold simply by touching
it? The following activity will help you understand better.

Measurement of Temperature

Activity:

Take three containers and label them as A, B, and C. Take hot water in container A,
and cold water in container C. In container B, mix hot and cold water in equal amounts.
Now, place your left hand in container A and right hand in container C for two minutes.
Then, dip both your hands in container B.
 What can you say about the water present in all three containers? Note your
observations in the table given below.
Container Hot/Cold
A
B
C

What is your observation for container B? Is the water in container B hot or cold?

When you dip your hands in container B, your left hand will tell you that the water is
cold, while your right hand will tell you that the water is hot. Thus, you will not be able to
distinguish whether the water present in container B is hot or cold.

From this activity, we can conclude that we cannot decide whether a substance is hot or
cold just by touching it. Thus, we need something more reliable than our sense of touch
to decide whether a substance is hot or cold.

The measure that can be used to detect the degree of hotness and coldness of a
substance is called temperature. More the temperature of a substance, the hotter it
will be.

Thermometer

The device that is used to measure the temperature is called a thermometer.

The scales used to measure temperature can either be degree Celsius or degree
Fahrenheit.

The thermometer in which liquid is used as a thermometric fluid is called a liquid

thermometer. The two most commonly used liquids are mercury and alcohol.

Use of mercury in thermometers

1. Mercury has a very high boiling (357 ºC) and freezing point (-39 ºC). Thus it can be
used over a wide range of temperature.
2. Mercury has a large expansion over a small change in temperature.
3. It does not stick to the glass of the capillary tube.
4. It is an opaque and shiny liquid and thus it can be easily seen through the glass tube.

Use of alcohol in thermometers

1. The freezing point of alcohol is very low (-100 ºC). Thus, it can be used to measure
temperature in regions such as Arctic and Antarctic.

2. Alcohol expands more quickly than mercury.

3. Alcohol is brightly coloured. Hence, it can be easily seen in the capillary glass tube.

Types of thermometer

There are two types of thermometers: clinical thermometers and laboratory

thermometers. The table given below tells us the difference between them.
Types of Thermometers

Clinical thermometer Laboratory thermometer

This thermometer is used in This thermometer is used to measure the

homes. It is basically used to temperature of all things, except the human body.
measure the temperature of It is a complex device. A laboratory thermometer
humans. A clinical thermometer has a temperature range of
has a temperature range of only 35 -10 ºC to 110 ºC.
ºC to 42 °C. Can you tell the
reason why? This is because our
body temperature never goes
below 35 °C or above 42 °C.

Why can we not use a laboratory thermometer to measure the body temperature
of humans? Let us perform a small activity to understand.

Activity:

Take a beaker full of water. Now, dip a laboratory thermometer in it. Make sure that it
touches neither the bottom of the beaker, nor the walls of the beaker. You will see that
the mercury line rises for some time, but then ceases to rise. Note the reading where
the mercury stagnates. This is the temperature of water. Take out the thermometer.

What do you observe? The mercury starts falling rapidly. This means that with a
laboratory thermometer, temperature has to be read when placed in water. On the other
hand, to measure the body temperature, the thermometer has to taken out of the mouth
to note the reading. Thus, it is not convenient to use a laboratory thermometer.

Do You Know?
 Mercury is a very toxic substance. Hence, now-a-days digital thermometers have
become more popular, which do not contain mercury.

There is another thermometer which is particulary used to measure maximum and

minimum temperatures of a day. Thia thermometer is known as Maximum-minimum
thermometer.

Temperature Scale

The three temperature scales that are in use are Celsius scale, Fahrenheit scale, and
Kelvin scale. However, the SI unit of temperature is Kelvin (K).

0 K = -273 oC

273 K = 0 °C

373 K = 100 °C

Conversion of Temperature Scale

• Degree celsius to Kelvin scale

Temperature in Kelvin = Temperature in °C + 273

For example 40°C = (40 + 273) K = 313 K

 Conversely, 343 K = (343 − 273) K = 70 °C

• Degree celsius to Fehrenheit

Temperature in Fehrenheit (°F) = °C × 9/5 + 32

or, Temperature in degree celsius (°C) = (°F – 32) × 5/9
For example human body temperature is 37 °C = 37 × 9/5 + 32 = 98.6 °F

Precautions while using thermometer

• Thermometer used be washed well before and after every use with an antiseptic like
alcohol.
• Washing should not be done in hot water.
• Keep the mercury level straight or along the line of sight while reading the thermometer.
• Do not hold the thermometer by its bulb while taking the readings.
• handle the thermometer with care as it is made up glass.

How is temperature a measure of heat?

In the SI system, the unit of temperature is Kelvin, whereas the unit of heat is joule (J).
Still temperature measurement can tell us about the heat energy contained in a body.

Q=m×C×t

Other common units of heat are calorie (cal) and kilocalorie (kcal).
1 calorie is the amount of heat energy required to increase the temperature of 1 g of
water by 1 oC.

1 kcal = 1000 cal

1 cal = 4.2 J

Thus, we can define heat and temperature as follows —

Heat − It is a form of energy which causes in us the sensation of hotness or coldness.

Temperature − It is measure of the degree of hotness or coldness.

Expansion of Solids

Linear Expansion of Solids (Δl)

It is also known as expansion of length.

Linear expansion ∝ Original length × Temperature change

Δl ∝ lΔT

→ Coefficient of linear expansion (characteristic property of material)

Generally, metals have high values.

Volume Expansion of Solids (ΔV)

It is also called cubical expansion. It occurs in complete volume of body.

ΔV ∝ Original volume × Temperature change

ΔV ∝ VΔT

αV → Coefficient of volume expansion

αV varies with temperature. It becomes constant at high temperature.

Area Expansion of Solids (ΔA)

ΔA ∝ Original area × Temperature change

ΔA ∝ AΔT

αA → Coefficient of area expansion

Relationship between αl, αA and αV

For a solid cube of length l,

Volume, V = l3

Area, A = l2

∴ Change in volume, ΔV = (l + Δl)3 − l3

3l2Δl [In eq.Δl2and Δl3 have been neglected]

Since Δl is small compared to l,

ΔV = = 3Vαl ΔT

Which gives,

Change in area, ΔA = (l + Δl)2 − l2

2lΔl
 ΔA =

ΔA = 2Aαl

Thus,
αl : αA : αV = 1 : 2 : 3

Expansion of Liquids and Gases

Expansion of Liquids

How is expansion in fluids different from solids?

• Liquids do not have linear or surface dimensions as they acquire the shape of the
containing vessel.

• We can only record the thermal expansion of liquids relative to the container.

Because liquids have definite volume, so we can define only the volumetric expansion
coefficient for a liquid.

V2 = V1(1 + βΔT)
where, V2 = Final volume of liquid

V1 = Initial volume of liquid

∆T = Change in temperature

β = Volumetric expansion coefficient of liquid

Anomalous Expansion of Water

Liquids generally expand on heating and contract on cooling whereas water shows a
peculiar behaviour of expanding above and below 4°C.

Let us perform an experiment to see the peculiar behaviour of water around 4°C.
 Take 1 kg of water at 0°C in a flask. Put a fine capillary
tube and a sensitive thermometer into this flask. Volume of
water is found to be 1000.14 cm3. Now heat the water up to
4°C. You will observe that the volume of the water now
becomes 1000 cm3. Now, plot a volume versus
temperature curve on a graph. The graph will look as
follows.

Hope’s Experiment

Set up

The experimental set up consists of a metal cylinder, having circular trough around its
middle. It has two openings on the same side for putting two thermometers into the
cylinder. The cylinder is filled with water at about 10°C and the trough contains freezing
mixture of ice and salt.

Observations
• Readings of the upper thermometer do not alter whereas readings of the lower
thermometer fall rapidly.

• The reading of the lower thermometer stabilises at 4°C whereas reading of upper
thermometer starts falling till 0°C.

• A thin crust of ice forms at the top of water in the cylinder.

Explanation

Water around the ice region cools down to 4°C and gets heavier. As the density of
water is the maximum at 4°C, the water from the middle portion settles down near the
bottom of the cylinder. Thus, the temperature at the lower thermometer is found to be
4°C. As the water from the middle portion settles down to the bottom, warm and lighter
water from the bottom portion blows up to fill up the place. Therefore, convection current
is set up at lower portion of the cylinder.

Because of this convection current, the temperature of the water gradually goes down to
0°C towards the upper portion of the trough. Hence, the reading of the upper
thermometer gradually goes down to 0°C.

Conclusions:

1. Density of water is the maximum at 4°C.

2. Ice formed at 0°C is lighter than water at the same temperature.

3. Freezing of water will start from top to bottom, but water in lower regions will stay at
4°C.

Let us see how this anomalous expansion of water affects living organisms.
 Expansion of Gases

• Gases do not have fixed volumes and shapes and gases expands on heating.

Suppose a gas of equal volumes is kept in two vessels. The first vessel has a fixed
piston and the second one has a movable piston as shown. Now, heat the two vessels
for some time. We will observe that the volume of the gas in first vessel does not
increase; instead its pressure increases. In the second vessel, the volume increases.

Thus, in case of gas, its expansion is measured by keeping its pressure constant.
Volumetric expansion of a gas is given as
V2 = V1(1 + βΔT)

where, V2 = Final volume of gas

V1 = Initial volume of gas

ΔT = Change in temperature
β = Constant pressure expansion coefficient of gas

• Gases expand on heating provided its pressure is kept constant. They undergo cubical
expansion on heating.

• Increase in volume of different gases for the same rise in temperature is the same.

• Density of a gases decreases appreciably with increase in temperature. This is because

of the increase in the the volume of the gases in appreciable amount with temperature.

• The force of attraction between the molecules of a gas is negligible. Thus on heating,
the molecules' average kinetic energy increases further because of which they move
violently in all the space available. Due to this, the inter-molecular separation increases
further. Hence, the gas expands on heating.

Energy Flow and Its Importance

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is composed of biotic and abiotic components. Biotic components are

producers, consumers and decomposers. Abiotic components are light, heat, rain,
humidity, inorganic and organic substances.

Sun is the most significant source of energy for all ecosystems. The energy received on
the Earth from the Sun is consumed in different ways. A handsome amount of the
incident energy is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere itself.

Out of the remaining portion, some is utilised in heating of land and water and the rest
falls on plants. Plants use only about 0.02% of the energy falling on it for producing their
food and thus are called producers.

Food Chain

Food chain is a link in which unidirectional flow of food energy takes places from
producers to different consumers.

Main producers are photosynthetic plants and bacteria. Food synthesized by the
producers is first utilised by primary consumers (e.g. krill).

These primary consumers are then eaten up by the secondary consumers (e.g small
fish) which in turn are consumed by the tertiary consumers (e.g. big fish).

The humans may be considered as the last consumers in this chain of energy transfer
when he eats the fish.
Energy Flow in Ecosystem

Plants first synthesize food through photosynthesis. The chemical energy thus gets
stored in them and is known as gross primary production.
Firstly, the producers themselves uses the energy stored in them for respiration. Then
the rest of energy, known as net primary production, is stored in them for their growth,
development and other important metabolic processes.

Next, the primary consumers (herbivores) consume these producers and obtain a small
part of energy from them. The rest of the energy gets wasted in decay of the producers.

Now, a small part of the energy obtained by the primary consumers is used up in
respiration to perform their various metabolic activities. The remaining part of the
obtained energy is stored in them as food.

Now, the secondary consumers (carnivores) consume a small part of the energy stored
as food in primary consumers and rest of the energy is wasted in decay of primary
consumers.

The secondary consumers make use of a small part this obtained energy in respiration
through which they can perform their metabolic processes. The rest of the energy is
stored in them as food.

Lastly, the tertiary consumers (carnivores) obtain a small amount of energy as food from
the secondary consumers and remaining is wasted in decay and decomposition of
secondary consumers.

A small part of the energy obtained by tertiary consumers is used up in respiration and
the rest is utilised in their decay.

This shows that the energy flow in the ecosystem is linear and moves in a fixed
direction.

But at the end, energy reaches to an un-useful state which can never return to the Sun
to make the process of energy flow cyclic.

A simple illustration of energy flow in the form of food chain is shown below
Good Source of Energy

We are familiar with the term energy. Everyday, we hear about the scarcity of energy
and a looming crisis caused by the rapid depletion of energy reserves. Energy can be
neither created nor destroyed. Hence, it should be conserved.

Energy is the ability or the capacity of a physical system to do work.

Are there different forms of energy? Can each form of energy be changed into
another form?

Yes, energy exists in various forms such as kinetic energy, heat energy, chemical
energy, etc. We can change energy from one form to another. For example, when a
candle is burned, it produces heat and light. Here, we can see that the chemical energy
in the candle is converted to light and heat energy.

Thus, we can say that a candle is a source of both light and heat. On the other hand,
burning of coal produces heat. Does it also produce light?

What makes some forms of energy good while others bad?

Let us answer the question using light and coal as examples. Which of the two
will you use as a source of heat energy to cook food?

You will use coal as a source of heat energy to cook food. But, why coal and not
candle? After all, both sources of energy produce heat.

This is because the heat from the candle is not sufficient to cook.

This implies that specific sources of energy are used for specific purposes, which we
refer to as good sources of energy for that particular task.

Good sources of energy exhibit some special characteristics that are listed below.
• It should possess a high calorific value, i.e., the amount of energy obtained by burning
one kilogram of the fuel should be high
• It should not leave residue after burning, i.e., it should burn completely
• It should burn without producing too many pollutants
• It should be easily available and accessible
• It should be economical
• It should be easy to store and transport

Coming back to our earlier discussion,

When we compare coal and candle as sources of heat energy, we find that both are
easily available, economical, and easy to store. However, coal is more efficient than
candle, i.e., coal has a higher calorific value. One kilogram of coal will provide more
energy as compared to one kilogram of candle-wax. Therefore, we prefer coal to candle
when we require heat energy.

Let us further understand some characteristics of a good fuel.

In addition to a high calorific value, a good fuel must also have a fairly low ignition
temperature. What will happen if the ignition temperature of a substance is lower
than the normal room temperature?

The fuel will be very difficult to store and transport. Any thermal contact with the
atmosphere will ignite the fuel and it may result in an explosion.

Calorific value is defined as the amount of heat energy obtained by burning one gram
of a substance. The unit of calorific value is kJ/g.

The ignition temperature of a substance is defined as the temperature at which the

substance starts burning. It is measured in °C, °F, or K.

Calorific values and ignition temperatures of some common fuels are listed in the
following table.

Fuel Ignition temperature (°C) Calorific value (in kJ/g)

Methane 580 50

LPG 400 55
 Petrol 280 45

Kerosene 210 45

Biogas 580 35 − 40

Diesel 260 45

Coal 300 25 − 33

Wood 300 17 − 22

Now, can you distinguish a good fuel from a bad fuel?

You can see that methane has the highest calorific value but it has a very high ignition
temperature. Petrol has high calorific value as well as low ignition temperature. Hence,
petrol is the best fuel among those listed in the above table. Now you know why most
cars use petrol as a source of energy (fuel).

Renewable and Non-Renewable Sources of Energy

Natural resources are the materials that occur in nature and are useful to humans.
These resources may be either living or non living.

Living resources includes living organisms like forests and wildlife or the products
derived form these living organisms like leather, wood etc. It also includes the fossil
fuels like coal, petroleum, natural gas etc.

that are derived from remains of dead and decayed living organisms over a long period
of time.

Non living resources include the land, water, soil, air and mineral ores.

Based on whether a source of energy can be replenished, it can be classified as a

• Renewable source of energy

• Non-renewable source of energy

Renewable sources of energy are those that are replenished at a rate faster than that
at which they are consumed. About 13 percent of the primary energy comes from
renewable resources. Renewable resources of energy are known
as inexhaustible sources of energy as they can be easily regenerated at a constant
rate.

Examples of renewable sources of energy include sunlight, wind, tides, and geothermal
energy.

Non-renewable sources of energy are those that are consumed at a rate faster than
that at which they are replenished. Non-renewable resources of energy are known
an exhaustible sources of energy as they can be easily exhausted.

Examples of non-renewable resources of energy are fossil fuels, which include coal,
petroleum, and natural gas. These resources are widely used. In addition to being an
exhaustible source of energy, fossil fuels also release polluting emissions on burning.

Coal: It is a non-renewable source of energy made up of complex compounds of

carbon, hydrogen and oxygen along with some free carbon and compounds of nitrogen
and sulphur. It is found in mines under the Earth's surface. In India, coal is found in
abundance in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Chattishgarh. It is a most common
source of energy for us.

Petroleum: It is a dark coloured viscous liquid also known as crude oil or black gold. It
is a complex mixture of many hydrocarbons with water, salt, earth particles and other
compounds of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. We obtain petroleum by drilling oil
wells into earth's crust at its reservoirs. Assam and Mumbai are the two petroleum
reservoirs of India. The petroleum extracted from wells has to be purified to obtain
different useful components.

The process of separating useful components from the crude oil is called refining and
this process is done by fractional distillation in big refineries. The petroleum gas
obtained as a by-product from the fractional distillation of petroleum majorly contains
butane and a small quantity of propane and ethane.

These gases generate a lot of heat on burning and can be liquefied easily under
pressure. This petroleum gas liquefied under pressure is known as LPG (liquefied
petroleum gas) which we use it in domestic gas stoves as fuel.

Gas cylinders are used to store LPG and a strong smelling substance called ethyl
mercaptan C2H5SH is added in this gas to detect any leakage.

Natural Gas: Same as petroleum, natural gas is also found deep under the Earth's
crust either alone or above the petroleum reservoirs. The main constituents of natural
gas are methane (upto to 95%), ethane and propane. It easily burns to produce heat. In
India, there are number of reservoirs of natural gas such as in Tripura, Jaisalmer,
offshore area of Mumbai and Krishna-Godavari delta.

Different Sources of Energy

Thermal and Hydro Power Plants

Power plants generate power. You may have

seen smoke coming out of the chimneys of
power stations. These power stations use
coal or petroleum as fuel to produce steam
by heating water. The steam is then used to
rotate a turbine, which drives a generator.
Electric energy thus generated is known as
thermal power and such power stations are
known as thermal power plants.

Steam is passed through the turbine and is

allowed to condense in a condenser. Since a
thermal power plant uses coal or petroleum
as fuel, it releases huge amounts of smoke
from its chimneys.

Make your own power station

You can make your own miniature thermal

power plant at home using a bicycle dynamo,
pressure cooker, turbine, and bulb as
illustrated in the figure.

Heat is used to make steam from water in the pressure cooker. Steam spins the turbine,
which in turn spins the dynamo. The dynamo generates electricity and this lights the
bulb.

Since it is more convenient to transport electricity rather than fossil fuels such as coal,
many thermal power plants are set up near coal or oil fields.

Hydro power plants

Instead of using steam to spin a turbine, hydro power plants use the potential energy
of water accumulated at a height to spin a turbine.

Biomass

Biomass refers to those living and non-living organic materials that can be used as
sources of energy in the form of fuel. Some examples of biomass fuels are wood, crops,
and organic garbage. The chemical energy in biomass is released as heat on burning.

Biomass can also be converted to other usable forms of energy such as methane gas or
transportation fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. It is a renewable source of energy.

We know that photosynthesis is a process in which plants absorb solar energy and
convert it into chemical energy. Scientists too have developed technologies that enable
us to trap solar energy to produce heat energy or electricity.

Solar Energy

Let us understand the uses of solar energy through an animation.

Solar electricity is mainly produced by using photovoltaic cells or solar cells. Such
cells are made up of semi-conductors that convert solar energy directly into electricity.

How does a photovoltaic solar cell work?

Photovoltaic (PV) cells are made of special materials

called semi-conductors such as silicon. When light
strikes the solar cell, a certain portion of it is absorbed
by the semi-conductor material. This means that the
energy of the absorbed light is transferred to the semi-
conductor.

This energy loosens the electrons from the atoms in

the semi-conductor material and allows them to flow
freely. This produces direct current (DC) or electricity.

Nuclear Power Plant

How is electricity produced in nuclear power plants?

Nuclear power plants consist
of nuclear reactors. These
reactors use uranium rods as
fuel and heat is generated by
the process of nuclear fission.

Neutrons smash into the

nucleus of the uranium atoms,
which roughly split into half
and release energy in the form
of heat.

Carbon dioxide gas is pumped through the reactor to take the heat away. The hot gas
then heats water to form steam. This steam drives the turbines of generators to produce
electricity.

Ocean Energy

Sea water is a highly potential resource of energy. Some forms of energy that can be
obtained from sea water are tidal energy, wave energy, and ocean thermal energy.

Tidal Energy

Tides are the daily rise and fall of ocean levels relative to
coastlines. They are a result of the gravitational forces of
the moon and the sun on earth, and also the revolution of
the earth. A large amount of energy is stored in tides.
They can be used as renewable sources of energy to
generate electricity.

Tidal electricity generation involves the construction of a barrage across deltas,

estuaries, beaches, or other places that witness increased tidal action.

Wave energy

Ocean waves are caused by winds as they blow across the sea. Waves are a powerful
source of energy. Electricity can also be produced from wave energy.
 How is electricity produced from wave
energy?

At a wave power station, waves cause the

water in the chamber to rise and fall, which
means that air is forced in and out of the hole
located at the top of the chamber. A turbine
placed in this hole is turned by the movement
of air rushing in and out. The turbine turns a
generator to produce electricity.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is the heat energy

in the earth’s interiors. The
temperature at the centre of the earth
is about 6000°C. In some areas,
molten rock (magma) is found very
close to the surface of the earth. This
hot rock meets underground water and
heats it up. This produces steam. Such
a place is known as a hot spot.
Sometimes, this heated underground
water finds an outlet through which it
comes out on the surface of the earth.
Such outlets are known as hot
springs.

Holes are drilled down to the regions through which steam comes up. This flow of steam
is used to drive the turbines of generators to produce electricity. One important use of
geothermal energy is to heat buildings.

Greenhouse Effect

What is a greenhouse?
You may have seen transparent structures made of plastic or glass that house
small plants. These transparent structures are called greenhouses. A greenhouse
allows sunlight to enter, but prevents the heat from escaping. This results in an increase
in the temperature inside the greenhouse.

Greenhouses help maintain climatic conditions such as temperature and humidity at the
levels that are conducive for the optimum growth of plants. Specially designed
greenhouses keep tropical plants warm during the winters in colder climates. Apart from
this, greenhouses also provide protection to plants against factors that are adverse to
their growth, for example, pests and strong winds.

Greenhouse effect

Greenhouse effect is an atmospheric phenomenon named after the heat-trapping

transparent structures.

Sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere to warm Earth’s surface, but the heat
radiated back from the warmed surface is absorbed by certain gases present in the
atmosphere.

This trapping of heat increases Earth’s temperature, much the same way as the
temperature inside a greenhouse rises. This is called greenhouse effect and the gases
responsible for this phenomenon are called greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse Effect: Causes

 The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been on the rise for centuries.
This has in turn increased Earth’s average temperature and resulted in the
phenomenon known as global warming.

Some of the factors responsible for this increase in greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.

• Deforestation: The cutting down of trees on a large scale negatively affects the amount
of carbon dioxide getting converted into oxygen. This increases the concentration of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

• Burning of fossil fuels: The burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum
releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

• Industrial emissions: Gases released by various industries also contribute to the rise
in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

CO2 Concentration in Atmosphere

Judicious Use of Energy

It is very difficult to fulfil all the energy requirements of human beings from the non-
conventional source of energy, so we have to move towards the conventional sources
of energy also. But conventional sources are limited and non-renewable and if we use
them constantly at large scale, there will be the energy crisis in the near future. To
control this situation following measures should be taken for the judicious use of energy.
1. Wastage of energy must be minimised.

2. Encourage reforestation and discourage deforestation.

3. Efforts must be made to make use of energy in groups.

4. Coal, petroleum, etc. should be consumed only when no other alternative sources of
energy is available

5. Rate of energy consumption in urban areas is much more than that in rural areas. But
in rural areas, the consumption of renewable source of energy is easier than the
urban areas. So, we should try to frequently use of renewable resources such as
biogas, wind energy, hydro energy etc. for generating electricity in rural areas.

6. Techniques should be developed by which we can encourage the use of renewable

energy as much as possible to meet our demands.

7. Research and efforts should be made to develop nuclear energy by the controlled
nuclear fusion of deuterium nuclei present in heavy water available in sea. This can
become an endless source of energy.

Energy Degradation

Ideally it is believed that a form of energy gets transformed to other form of energy
(desired form) without any loss of it. But practically, it has been observed that the entire
energy does not change into desired form, but a part of it changes into some undesired
form.

This conversion of energy to some undesirable form is known as energy dissipation and
since this undesirable form of energy cannot be used by us to do any productive work,
so it is regarded as the degraded form of energy. The rate of generation of degraded
form of energy increases with more and more use of energy.

Few examples of degraded form of energy:

• In bulbs, only 25% of electrical energy converts into the light energy and remaining
portion of energy is either wasted in heating the filament and or gets converted to other
invisible radiation.

• In vehicles, a small part of the energy obtained from the burning fuel is used up in
running the vehicle while the major part of the energy is wasted in heating the moving
parts of the vehicles, in overcoming friction between the ground and its tyres, etc.

• While cooking food, a significant part of energy is radiated in the atmosphere. This
energy is of no use to us.