Mechanical & electrical systems

Answer discussion questions & respond to all 9 discussion post.

1. What is the difference between kinetic and potential energy?
2. Discuss materials having good and bad thermal conductivity.
3. What is a heat sink and what is it for?
4. What percentage of electricity produced at a power plant gets used in a home or building?

 

Discussion

I D 

What is the difference between kinetic and potential energy?

Kinetic energy is energy of motion.  Potential energy is stored energy a body has due to its position, chemical state, or condition.

Respond:

Discuss materials having good and bad thermal conductivity.

Gases and liquids such as air and water have poor thermal conductivity.  Solids such as aluminum and copper have good thermal conductivity.  The thermal conductivity number assigned to a given material is based on the ability of the material to transfer heat.

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J R

What is a heat sink and what is it for?

In heat pumps, it’s a conductive substance with a relatively cold surface capable of absorbing heat.

In the electronic field, it’s a device that conducts and dissipates heat away from a component.

Respond:

What percentage of electricity produced at a power plant gets used in a home or building?

Transformers at a power plant step-up voltage from generators at approximately 240,000 V and after electricity distribution, transformers step-down electricity to 120V/240V to service buildings and homes. Buildings and homes receive about 0.05% – 0.1% of electricity produced.

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D G

What is the difference between kinetic and potential energy?

Kinetic energy is the energy of motion such as falling water, a released spring, or a speeding automobile. Kinetic energy is released potential energy. The major sources of energy are coal, oil, gas, wood, and nuclear power.

Potential energy is stored energy a body has due to its position, chemical state, or condition. Water behind a dam has potential energy because of its position of the water. A compressed spring has potential energy because of its condition. Gasoline has potential energy based on its chemical state.

Respond

2. Discuss materials having good and bad thermal conductivity.

Thermal conductivity is the property of a material to conduct heat in the form of thermal energy. The higher the thermal conductivity rating (good conductor), the faster the material conducts heat. The lower the thermal conductivity rating (poor conductor), the slower the material conducts heat.

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M U

What is a heat sink and what is it for?

A heat sink is a heat exchanger that allows an electronic or mechanical object to remove excess heat from the system in order to keep it at its optimal operating temperatures. It usually does so through the use of fans that help cool down these vital components. Heat sinks are found in everyday objects such as tvs, computer processors, phones.

Respond:

 What percentage of electricity produced at a power plant gets used in a home or a building?

According to a study from Greenpeace in 2005, only about 22 percent of the energy that is produced in a fossil-fueled power plant is usable. The study reports that about 62% of the energy produced is lost in the plant as a product of waste heat while 4% is lost in the power lines that transport this energy to the various transformers and to us. It then states that our appliances also waste up to 13% of this energy that actually reaches our home.

Source: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/powerplants.html

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A D

What is the difference between kinetic and potential energy?

 

Potential energy is exactly this since the energy is in a stored state having the “potential” or possibility to be transformed into energy that applies the forced produced into a form of movement or motion resulting in kinetic energy. This release of energy and its associated magnitude is dependent upon certain characteristics within a body’s chemical state, form and according to orientation and position. Once this potential energy is released the result is an applied force known as kinetic energy. A good example is the energy release is when fuel is injected into cylinders, ignited by spark plugs, explodes within the cylinders and pushes pistons and the attached piston rods that connected to a crankshaft downward within a combustion engine which passes energy on to a driveshaft which turns smaller shafts that turn the wheels of the vehicle.

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