energy, sources of

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2016

Copyright The Columbia University Press.
sources of energy, origins of the power used for transportation, for heat and light in dwelling
and working areas, and for the manufacture of goods of all kinds, among other applications.
The development of science and civilization is closely linked to the availability of energy in
useful forms. Modern society consumes vast amounts of energy in all forms: light, heat,
electrical, mechanical, chemical, and nuclear. The rate at which energy is produced or
consumed is called power, although this term is sometimes used in common speech
synonymously with energy.
Types of Energy
Chemical and Mechanical Energy
An early source of energy, or prime mover, used by humans was animal power, i.e., the
energy obtained from domesticated animals. Later, as civilization developed, wind power was
harnessed to drive ships and turn windmills, and streams and rivers were diverted to turn
water wheels (see water power). The rotating shaft of a windmill or water wheel could then
be used to crush grain, to raise water from a well, or to serve any number of other uses. The
motion of the wind and water, as well as the motion of the wheel or shaft, represents a form
of mechanical energy. The source of animal power is ultimately the chemical energy
contained in foods and released when digested by humans and animals.
Heat Energy
The invention of the steam engine, which converts the chemical energy of fuels into heat
energy and the heat into mechanical energy, provided another source of energy. The steam
engine is called an external-combustion engine, since fuel is burned outside the engine to
create the steam used inside it. During the 19th cent. the internal-combustion engine was
developed; a variety of fuels, depending on the type of internal-combustion engine, are
burned directly in the engine's chambers to provide a source of mechanical energy.
Electrical Energy
Early in the 19th cent. another source of energy was developed that did not necessarily need
the combustion of fuelsthe electric generator, or dynamo. The generator converts the
mechanical energy of a conductor moving in a magnetic field into electrical energy, using the
principle of electromagnetic induction. The great advantage of electrical energy, or electric
power, as it is commonly called, is that it can be transmitted easily over great distances (see
power, electric).
Nuclear Energy
The development of nuclear energy made available another source of energy. The heat of a
nuclear reactor can be used to produce steam, which then can be directed through a turbine to
drive an electric generator, the propellers of a large ship, or some other machine. In 1999,
23% of the electricity generated in the United States derived from nuclear reactors; however,
since the 1980s, the construction and application of nuclear reactors in the United States has

slowed because of concern about the dangers of the resulting radioactive waste and the
possibility of a disastrous nuclear meltdown (see Three Mile Island; Chernobyl; Fukushima).