By Aryeh Ronay & Sydney Cohen
Energy Conversion
Energy conversion is the process of changing energy from one form to another. The term is also used more specifically to refer to the transformation of natural energy into energy usable by humans.
This energy conversion can occur through renewable energy such as through solar panels and wind turbines turning the sun and wind into electricity or through non-renewable energy, like turning fossil fuels into electricity.
Electrical Energy and Kinetic Energy
Have you ever wondered what happens when you plug your phone charger in? Energy is converted from electrical energy to kinetic energy. This conversion process also occurs when converting solar, thermal, or mechanical energies into electricity.
You may be wondering how this physics phenomenon works. The answer lies in the power source and the type of work being done by an electric generator.
Energy Conversion and Religion
In “Eco Bible,” Rabbis Yonatan Neril and Leo Dee discuss energy conversion in the Bible and what the future of energy conversion may look like.
Quoted below is their exploration of one of the most important forms of energy conversion, solar energy conversion.
Eco Bible
Palm Trees and Solar Energy
Exodus 15:27 – and They Came to Elim, Where There Were Twelve Springs of Water and Seventy Palm Trees; and They Encamped There Beside the Water.
Tamar, the Hebrew word for date palm, has the same Gematria, or kabbalistic numbering, as Shemesh, the Hebrew word for sun: 640. The tops of some date trees actually look like a green sun with leaves radiating outward from a circular trunk. The date is one of the sweetest fruits with 60 to 80 percent sugar content by weight, which means that it is highly efficient at converting abundant desert sunlight into energy. Modern solar panels mimic this photosynthesis by creating energy from sunlight.
Recent research into solar power explains how photosynthesis may contain the secret to sustainable power for future generations. According to a recent study, “Solar energy has great potential as a clean, cheap, renewable and sustainable energy source, but it must be captured and transformed into useful forms of energy similar to plants. An especially attractive approach is to store solar energy in the form of chemical bonds as performed in natural photosynthesis. Therefore, there has been a challenge in the last few decades to construct . . . artificial photosynthetic systems, which are able to efficiently capture and convert solar energy and store it in the form of chemical bonds.”
In 1981, one of the leading rabbis in America, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, said about the US, “Very soon, the entire country should switch, first of all, to energy that can be generated from the sun’s rays in the south [of the US], which should be supplied to the entire country . . . In fact, this can be practically implemented in such a manner as to provide more than enough, so that there is extra energy that can be supplied to other countries as well.”
The Challenge of Storing Renewable Energy
One of the biggest challenges of working with renewable sources of energy like wind and sun is that it is difficult to store them. Contrast this with coal and oil, which can be stored forever and are easily converted to other forms of energy.
The Texas Energy Outage
In fact, this difficulty of storing wind and solar energy was highlighted at the beginning of 2021 when a blizzard hit Texas and knocked out power for millions. Former Energy Secretary, Rick Perry, and Texas Gov., Greg Abbott, blamed solar and wind power for the power outages, but further investigation shows a different story.
Camila Damonoske wrote an article entitled, No, The Blackouts In Texas Weren’t Caused By Renewables, in which she explains how “grid operators say it simply doesn’t make sense to pinpoint any one generation source for criticism” because “every kind of power generation fell short in this storm”.
Don’t Blame The Energy
In other words, it’s unfair to blame the frozen windmills when the natural gas wells, pipelines and equipment panels also froze and became unusable. It’s clearly unfair to blame renewable energy sources for the Texas power outages. However, it is still important to improve the storage of renewable energy so it can achieve parity with fossil fuels.
Storing solar energy through chemical bonds, as discussed in the Eco Bible quote above, could be a great innovation in renewable energy conversion that would help the world shift away from fossil fuel dependence.
Understanding Energy Conversion
Energy cannot be destroyed, it can only be transferred. This is important to remember as we learn about energy transformation and conservation so that we can ensure that we are just using the amount of energy we need, and not wasting any.
In the end, it is all about understanding how energy conversion and transformation take place. These principles can be applied to your life as well as in business. Understanding this will help you make better decisions for both!
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