The Physics of Energy

Front Cover
Cambridge University Press, Jan 25, 2018 - Science - 874 pages
0 Reviews
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
The Physics of Energy provides a comprehensive and systematic introduction to the scientific principles governing energy sources, uses, and systems. This definitive textbook traces the flow of energy from sources such as solar power, nuclear power, wind power, water power, and fossil fuels through its transformation in devices such as heat engines and electrical generators, to its uses including transportation, heating, cooling, and other applications. The flow of energy through the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, and systems issues including storage, electric grids, and efficiency and conservation are presented in a scientific context along with topics such as radiation from nuclear power and climate change from the use of fossil fuels. Students, scientists, engineers, energy industry professionals, and concerned citizens with some mathematical and scientific background who wish to understand energy systems and issues quantitatively will find this textbook of great interest.
 

What people are saying - Write a review

We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.

Contents

Introduction
3
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
9
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
24
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
53
4
60
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
67
Problems
86
4
92
56
402
1
404
Insolation and the Solar Constant
432
1
446
78
451
Photovoltaic Solar Cells
465
Biological Energy
494
Ocean Energy Flow
514

Problems
102
Introduction to Quantum Physics
109
8
115
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
133
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
160
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
180
10
183
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
201
Internal Combustion Engines
203
45
217
Phasechange Energy Conversion
219
Thermal Power and Heat Extraction Cycles
235
The Forces of Nature
263
Quantum Phenomena in Energy Systems
279
An Overview of Nuclear Power
291
Structure Properties and Decays of Nuclei
299
19
323
48
367
1
372
77
395
A Highly Variable Resource
531
The Basics
556
Wind Turbines
577
Hydro Wave Tidal and Marine Current Power
591
1
620
1
645
Problems
656
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
677
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
707
3
725
4
736
2
743
5
755
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
771
DiscussionInvestigation Questions
797
Electricity Generation and Transmission
800
Appendix A Notation
830
Units and Fundamental Constants
842
729
867
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2018)

Robert L. Jaffe holds the Morningstar Chair in the Department of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was formerly director of MIT's Center for Theoretical Physics and recently chaired the American Physical Society's Panel on Public Affairs. Jaffe is best known for his research on the quark substructure of the proton and other strongly interacting particles, on exotic states of matter, and on the quantum structure of the vacuum. He received his B.A. from Princeton and his Ph.D. from Stanford. In recognition of his contributions to teaching and course development at MIT, Jaffe has received numerous awards including a prestigious MacVicar Fellowship. Jaffe is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Washington Taylor is a Professor of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and is currently the Director of MIT's Center for Theoretical Physics. Taylor's research is focused on basic theoretical questions of particle physics and gravity. Taylor has made contributions to our understanding of fundamental aspects of string theory and its set of solutions, including connections to constraints on low-energy field theory and observable physics and to new results in mathematics. Taylor received his B.A. in mathematics from Stanford and his Ph.D. in physics from University of California, Berkeley. Among other honors, Taylor has been an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow and a Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator, and has received MIT's Buechner faculty teaching prize.

Bibliographic information