Energy sources

Sources from which energy can be obtained to provide heat, light, and power. Sources of energy ha
ve evolved from humanand animal power to fossil fuels, uranium, water power, wind, and the Sun.

The principal fossil fuels are coal, lignite, peat, petroleum, and natural gas; other potential sources o
f fossil fuels include oilshale and tar sands. As fossil fuels become depleted, nonfuel sources and fis
sion and fusion sources will become of greaterimportance since they are renewable. Nuclear power
is based on the fission of uranium, thorium, and plutonium, and thefusion power is based on the for
cing together of the nuclei of two light atoms such as deuterium, tritium, orhelium‐3. See N
uclear power

Nonfuel sources of energy include wastes, water, wind, geothermal deposits, biomass, and solar he
at. See Geothermal power, Solar energy, Wind power

Fuels which do not exist in nature are known as synthetic fuels. They are synthesized or manufactur
ed from varieties offossil fuels which cannot be used conveniently in their original forms. Substitute
natural gas is manufactured from coal,peat, or oil shale. Synthetic liquid fuels can be produced from
coal, oil shale, or tar sands. Both gaseous and liquid fuels canbe synthesized from renewable reso
urces, collectively called biomass. These carbon sources are trees, grasses, algae,plants, and orga
nic waste. Production of synthetic fuels, particularly from renewable resources, increases the scope
ofavailable energy sources.

Energy management includes not only the procurement of fuels on the most economical basis, but t
he conservation ofenergy by every conceivable means. Whether this is done by squeezing out ever
y Btu through heat exchangers, or by room-temperature processes instead of high-
temperature processes, or by greater insulation to retain heat which has beengenerated, each has
a role to play in requiring less energy to produce the same amount of goods and materials.