Nottingham, United Kingdom

Sustainable Energy Technology

Table of contents

Sustainable Energy Technology at University of Nottingham

Language: English Studies in English
Subject area: engineering and engineering trades
University website: www.nottingham.ac.uk
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Definitions and quotes

Energy
In physics, energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object in order to perform work on, or to heat, the object. Energy is a conserved quantity; the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed. The SI unit of energy is the joule, which is the energy transferred to an object by the work of moving it a distance of 1 metre against a force of 1 newton.
Sustainable Energy
Sustainable energy is energy that is consumed at insignificant rates compared to its supply and with manageable collateral effects, especially environmental effects. Another common definition of sustainable energy is an energy system that serves the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Renewable energy is not a synonym of sustainable energy. While renewable energy is defined as one that is naturally replenished on a human timescale, sustainable (often referred to as 'clean') energy is one the use of which will not compromise the system in which it is adopted to the point of not being fit to provide needs in the future. The organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development, which includes the four interconnected domains: ecology, economics, politics and culture. Sustainability science is the study of sustainable development and environmental science.
Technology
Technology ("science of craft", from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia) is first robustly defined by Jacob Bigelow in 1829 as: "...principles, processes, and nomenclatures of the more conspicuous arts, particularly those which involve applications of science, and which may be considered useful, by promoting the benefit of society, together with the emolument [compensation ] of those who pursue them" .
Energy
It is important to realize that in physics today, we have no knowledge of what energy is. We do not have a picture that energy comes in little blobs of a definite amount.
Richard Feynman, in The Feynman Lectures on Physics (1964) Volume I, 4-1
Technology
It is the constant attempt in this country [Canada] to make fundamental science responsive to the marketplace. Because technology needs science, it is tempting to require that scientific projects be justified in terms of the worth of the technology they can be expected to generate. The effect of applying this criterion is, however, to restrict science to developed fields where the links to technology are most evident. By continually looking for a short-term payoff we disqualify the sort of science that … attempts to answer fundamental questions, and, having answered them, suggests fundamentally new approaches in the realm of applications.
John C. Polanyi, A Scientist and the World He Lives In, Speech to the Empire Club of Canada (27 Nov 1986) in C. Frank Turner and Tim Dickson (eds.), The Empire Club of Canada Speeches 1986-1987 (1987), 149-161.
Technology
I have argued above that we cannot prevent the Singularity, that its coming is an inevitable consequence of the humans' natural competitiveness and the possibilities inherent in technology. And yet … we are the initiators. Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things. We have the freedom to establish initial conditions, make things happen in ways that are less inimical than others. Of course (as with starting avalanches), it may not be clear what the right guiding nudge really is...
Vernor Vinge, The Coming Technological Singularity (1993)
An EU network is helping to overcome fragmentation in research and development facilities for thermochemical technologies by granting researchers access to high-level experimental facilities and services across Europe.
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