The Future of Energy

Energy is used for almost everything in our day to day lives. Our food is grown and harvesting using energy, we get to and from school using energy, and our buildings are heated, cooled, and lit using energy.

Times are changing though. Humans of the future will need to look for new types of energy, which means that many things will change.

This presentation will look at some of the future forms of energy we might use.

What do we use for energy now? What about 200 years ago?

We get almost all of our energy now from ancient plants and animals... which have turned to oil, coal, and natural gas. These energy rich materials led people through the industrial revolution to the world we are in today

Before fossil fuels, people used wood as their primary source of energy. People used so much wood that they changed the face of the world. Before humans, Britain used to be a giant forest. Now, little forest remains on the island

Energy Source #1 – Hydrogen Fuel Cells

The first potential source of energy people could investigate in the future are hydrogen fuel cells. This uses hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, as form of energy. The problem is that hydrogen is not easy to find in its pure form. Most of it is locked up in oxygen.

To make hydrogen gas uses more energy than the hydrogen gives back, so that is a problem. Hydrogen fuel cells might be a good way to store energy in the future, but for the moment it does not look like a good source of energy.

There are already hydrogen buses in many cities

What a hydrogen gas station might look like

Energy Source #2 – Nuclear Fusion

We already use Nuclear energy today, but the type we use is called fission. It is a good source of energy, but it does produce waste, radiation, and can be really dangerous if there is a problem. Nuclear fusion is much harder to produce. It happens in the centre of the sun, under high temperatures and pressure. Humans have been trying to make it work on Earth, but currently is takes more energy to start the reaction than the reaction creates.

The pictures you see here are of two projects to create nuclear fusion: The Tokamak reactor (above) and the National Ignition Facility (right). The Tokamak reactor usese magnets to control the reaction, and the NIF starts the reaction using hundreds of high powered lasers.

Energy Source #3 – Solar Power

Solar power has been used for a long time, but is still expensive to produce. New solar technologies are much cheaper though, and every year the price of solar power gets lower. Since our Earth gets a lot of sunlight, it is an obvious choice as an energy source.

There are two types that people use these days: Solar thermal (like the tower in the background) and photovoltaic. Solar thermal is cheaper because is basically uses mirrors to concentrate the sun's light. Photovoltaics are great because they create electricity directly form the sun.

A solar panel farm

More Information?

How Stuff Works – What is the Biggest Energy Source of the Future?How Nuclear Fusion WorksBeam Me Down Scotty – Solar Energy from SpaceHow Hydrogen Fuel Cells work

Lesson written by Noan Fesnoux