 Energy is the power to change things.

It is the
ability to do work.
 Energy lights our cities, powers our vehicles, and
runs machinery in factories. It warms and cools our
homes, cooks our food, plays our music, and gives us
pictures on television.
 Joule - A unit of energy. One joule equals 0.2388
calories or 0.0009481 Btu.
The different sources are:-
 Fossil fuels
 Hydro power plant
 Biomass
 Wind energy
 Solar energy
 Geo thermal energy
 Ocean thermal energy
 Tidal energy
 Wave energy
 Nuclear energy
Coal, oil and gas are called "fossil fuels" because they have been formed from the
organic remains of prehistoric plants and animals. Crude oil (called "petroleum") is
easier to get out of the ground than coal, as it can flow along pipes. This also makes
it cheaper to transport. Natural gas provides around 20% of the world's consumption
of energy, and as well as being burnt in power stations, is used by many people to
heat their homes. It is easy to transport along pipes, and gas power stations produce
comparatively little pollution. Fossil fuels are not a renewable energy resource. Once
we've burned them all, there isn't any more, and our consumption of fossil fuels has
nearly doubled every 20 years since 1900. This is a particular problem for oil,
because we also use it to make plastics and many other products. FossiL FuelS
Electricity produced from generators driven by water
turbines that convert the energy in falling or fast-flowing
water to mechanical energy. Water at a higher elevation
flows downward through large pipes or tunnels
(penstocks). The falling water rotates turbines, which
drive the generators, which convert the turbines'
mechanical energy into electricity. The advantages of
hydroelectric power over such other sources as fossil
fuels and nuclear fission are that it is continually
renewable and produces no pollution. There are now
three types of hydroelectric installations: storage, run-
 Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste
of various human and natural activities. It is derived from numerous sources,
including the by-products from the timber industry, agricultural crops, raw
material from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood. Biomass
does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same
amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its
advantage is that it can be used to generate electricity with the same
equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels. At present,
biogas technology provides an alternative source of energy in rural India for
cooking. It is particularly useful for village households that have their own
cattle. Through a simple process cattle dung is used to produce a gas, which
serves as fuel for cooking. The residual dung is used as manure.
Wind energy is the kinetic energy associated with the movement of
atmospheric air. It has been used for hundreds of years for sailing,
grinding grain, and for irrigation. Wind energy systems convert this kinetic
energy to more useful forms of power. Wind energy systems for irrigation
and milling have been in use since ancient times and since the beginning
of the 20th century it is being used to generate electric power . Wind
turbines transform the energy in the wind into mechanical power, which
can then be used directly for grinding etc. or further converting to
electric power to generate electricity. Wind turbines can be used singly
or in clusters called ‘wind farms’. Small wind turbines called aero-
generators can be used to charge large batteries.
 Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been
harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving
technologies. Solar power technologies provide electrical generation by
means of heat engines or photovoltaics. Once converted its uses are only
limited by human ingenuity. Solar technologies are broadly characterized as
either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture,
convert and distribute sunlight. A partial list of solar applications includes
space heating and cooling through Solar cooker, solar cell. Solar heater etc
 A solar oven or solar cooker is a device which
uses sunlight as its energy source. Because they use no
fuel and they cost nothing to run, humanitarian
organizations are promoting their use worldwide to help
slow deforestation and desertification, caused by using
wood as fuel for cooking. Solar cookers are also
sometimes used in outdoor cooking, especially in
situations where minimum fuel consumption or fire risk
are considered highly important. Three LPG cylinders can
be saved annually as a result of solar cooking. Food
cooked in solar cooker tastes better, is more nutritious
and healthy.
A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a machine that
converts sunlight directly into electricity by
the photo volts effect. Photovoltaic's is the field
of technology and research related to the
application of solar cells in producing electricity
for practical use. The photovoltaic effect, which
causes the cell to convert light directly into
electrical energy, occurs in the three energy-
conversion layers.
Solar heating systems are generally composed of
solar thermal collectors, a fluid system to move the heat
from the collector to its point of usage. The system may
use electricity for pumping the fluid, and have a reservoir or
tank for heat storage and subsequent use. The systems may
be used to heat water for a wide variety of uses, including
home, business and industrial uses. In many climates, a
solar heating system can provide up to 85% of domestic hot
water energy. In many northern European countries,
combined hot water and space heating systems are used to
provide 15 to 25% of home heating energy.
Geothermal energy is heat from within the earth. We can use
the steam and hot water produced inside the earth to heat
buildings or generate electricity. Geothermal energy is
a renewable energy source because the water is replenished
by rainfall and the heat is continuously produced inside the
earth. Geothermal energy is generated in the earth's core,
about 4,000 miles below the surface . Temperatures hotter
than the sun's surface are continuously produced inside the
earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles, a process
that happens in all rocks.
 The main objective of ocean thermal energy or Ocean Thermal Energy
Conversion (OTEC) is to turn the solar energy trapped by the ocean into
useable energy. This kind of energy is found in tropical oceans where
the water temperature differs from surface to deeper into the sea. On
the ocean surface it can be at least 20 C hotter or cooler than the
temperature at a deeper sea level. Three approaches, open cycle OTEC,
closed cycle OTEC and hybrid cycle OTEC have been created in the past
fifty years. The variety of products and services are the major advantage
of OTEC plants. Ocean thermal is also relatively clean and will not
produce more pollutants that contribute to global warming. OTEC plants
are most suitable for islands around the tropical region of the east
Pacific Ocean. This is because OTEC plants can provide both energy and
pure water at the same time with a relatively low cost. It is also because
the ocean in that region has greater temperature differences, which is
about 24 co .
 Tidal energy is the utilization of the sun and moon's
gravitational forces - as tides are formed by the
gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the oceans of
the rotating earth. Tides can be found with varying
degrees of strength on any coastline, and sometimes even
at sea, although these are better known as currents. The
modern version of a tide mill is a semi-permeable barrage
built across an estuary, allowing floodwaters to fill an
impounded basin via a series of sluices. Tidal energy is
one of the oldest forms of energy used as evidence of tide
mills from before 1100AD .
 In many areas of the world, the wind blows with enough
consistency and force to provide continuous waves.
There is tremendous energy in the ocean waves. WAVE
POWER DEVICES extract energy directly from the surface
motion of ocean waves or from pressure fluctuations
below the surface. Wave technologies have been
designed to be installed in near shore, offshore, and far
offshore locations. While all wave energy technologies
are intended to be installed at or near the water's
surface, they differ in their orientation to the waves with
which they are interacting and in the manner in which
they convert the energy of the waves into other energy
forms, usually electricity.
 Changes can occur in the structure of the nuclei of atoms. These changes are
called nuclear reactions. Energy created in a nuclear reaction is called nuclear
energy, or atomic energy. Nuclear energy is produced naturally and in man-made
operations under human control. Nuclear Fission: In nuclear fission, the nuclei of
atoms are split, causing energy to be released. The atomic bomb and nuclear
reactors work by fission. The element uranium is the main fuel used to undergo
nuclear fission to produce energy since it has many favorable properties. Uranium
nuclei can be easily split by shooting neutrons at them. Also, once a uranium
nucleus is split, multiple neutrons are released which are used to split other
uranium nuclei. This phenomenon is known as a chain reaction. Nuclear Fusion: In
nuclear fusion, the nuclei of atoms are joined together, or fused. This happens only
under very hot conditions. The Sun, like all other stars, creates heat and light
through nuclear fusion. In the Sun, hydrogen nuclei fuse to make helium.
The hydrogen bomb, humanity's most powerful and destructive weapon, also works
by fusion. The heat required to start the fusion reaction is so great that an atomic
bomb is used to provide it. Hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium and in the
process release huge amounts of energy thus producing a huge explosion.