Introduction

Energy is one of the most fundamental

parts of our universe.
We use energy to do work. Energy lights
our cities. Energy powers our vehicles,
trains, planes and rockets. Energy warms
our homes, cooks our food, plays our
music, gives us pictures on television.
Energy powers machinery in factories and
tractors on a farm.
Energy from the sun gives us light during
the day. It dries our clothes when they're
hanging outside on a clothes line. It helps
plants grow. Energy stored in plants is
eaten by animals, giving them energy. And
predator animals eat their prey, which
gives the predator animal energy.
Everything we do is connected to energy
in one form or another.
Energy is defined as:

"the ability to do work."

When we eat, our bodies transform the
energy stored in the food into energy to do
work. When we run or walk, we "burn"
food energy in our bodies. When we think
or read or write, we are also doing work.
Many times it's really hard work!
Cars, planes, light bulbs, boats and
machinery also transform energy into
work.
Work means moving something, lifting
something, warming something, lighting
something. All these are a few of the
various types of work. But where does

energy come from?

There are many sources of energy. In The
Energy Story, we will look at the energy
that makes our world work. Energy is an
important part of our daily lives.
The forms of energy we will look at
include:

Electricity
Biomass Energy - energy from
plants
Geothermal Energy
Fossil Fuels - Coal, Oil and
Natural Gas
Hydro Power and Ocean Energy
Nuclear Energy
Solar Energy
Wind Energy

Transportation Energy
We will also look at turbines and generators, at what electricity is, how energy is sent to users,
and how we can decrease or conserve the energy we use. Finally, we'll look at the "newer"
forms of energy...and take a look at energy in the future.

The Energy Story - Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Energy - What Is It?
Chapter 2: Electricity
Chapter 3: Static Electricity & Resistance
Chapter 4: Electrical Circuits
Chapter 5: Stored Energy & Batteries
Chapter 6: Generators, Turbines and Power Plants
Chapter 7: Electricity Transmission System
Chapter 8: Fossil Fuels - Coal, Oil and Natural Gas
Chapter 9: Natural Gas Distribution System
Chapter 10: Biomass Energy
Chapter 11: Geothermal Energy
Chapter 12: Hydro Power
Chapter 13: Nuclear Energy - Fission and Fusion
Chapter 14: Ocean Energy
Chapter 15: Solar Energy
Chapter 16: Wind Energy
Chapter 17: Renewable vs. Nonrenewable - Environment & Air Quality
Chapter 18: Energy for Transportation
Chapter 19: Saving Energy and Energy Efficiency
Chapter 20: Hydrogen and Energy In Our Future
Conclusion

Chapter 1: What is Energy?

Energy causes things to happen around us. Look out the

window. During the day, the sun gives out light and heat
energy. At night, street lamps use electrical energy to
light our way.
When a car drives by, it is being powered by gasoline, a
type of stored energy.
The food we eat contains energy. We use that energy to
work and play.
We learned the definition of energy in the introduction:

Energy Is the Ability to Do Work.

Energy can be found in a number of different forms. It can be chemical energy, electrical energy,
heat (thermal energy), light (radiant energy), mechanical energy, and nuclear energy.

Stored and Moving Energy

Energy makes everything happen and can be divided into two types:

Stored energy is called potential energy.

Moving energy is called kinetic energy.

With a pencil, try this example to know the two types of energy.
Put the pencil at the edge of the desk and push it off to the floor. The moving pencil uses kinetic
energy.
Now, pick up the pencil and put it back on the desk. You used your own energy to lift and move
the pencil. Moving it higher than the floor adds energy to it. As it rests on the desk, the pencil has
potential energy. The higher it is, the further it could fall. That means the pencil has more potential
energy.

How Do We Measure Energy?

Energy is measured in many ways.
One of the basic measuring blocks is called a Btu. This stands for British thermal unit and was
invented by, of course, the English.
Btu is the amount of heat energy it takes to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one
degree Fahrenheit, at sea level.
One Btu equals about one blue-tip kitchen match.
One thousand Btus roughly equals: One average candy bar or 4/5 of a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich.
It takes about 2,000 Btus to make a pot of coffee.
Energy also can be measured in joules. Joules sounds exactly like the word jewels, as in
diamonds and emeralds. A thousand joules is equal to a British thermal unit.
1,000 joules = 1 Btu
So, it would take 2 million joules to make a pot of coffee.
The term "joule" is named after an English scientist James Prescott
Joule who lived from 1818 to 1889. He discovered that heat is a
type of energy.
One joule is the amount of energy needed to lift something
weighing one pound to a height of nine inches. So, if you lifted a
five-pound sack of sugar from the floor to the top of a counter (27
inches), you would use about 15 joules of energy.
Around the world, scientists measure energy in joules rather than
Btus. It's much like people around the world using the metric
system of meters and kilograms, instead of the English system of
feet and pounds.
Like in the metric system, you can have kilojoules -- "kilo" means
1,000.
1,000 joules = 1 kilojoule = 1 Btu
A piece of buttered toast contains about 315 kilojoules (315,000 joules) of energy. With that
energy you could:

Jog for 6 minutes

Bicycle for 10 minutes
Walk briskly for 15 minutes
Sleep for 1-1/2 hours

Food Energy
Energy changes form at each step in the food chain. Take an
ear of corn as an example.

Run a car for 7 seconds at 80

kilometers per hour (about 50 miles
per hour)
Light a 60-watt light bulb for 1-1/2
hours
Or lift that sack of sugar from the floor
to the counter 21,000 times!

Changing Energy
Energy can be transformed into another sort
of energy. But it cannot be created AND it
cannot be destroyed. Energy has always
existed in one form or another.
Here are some changes in energy from one
form to another.
Stored energy in a flashlight's batteries
becomes light energy when the flashlight is
turned on.

Sunlight is taken in by the leaves on the corn stalk and

transformed through photosynthesis. The plant takes in
sunlight and combines it with carbon dioxide from the air and
water and minerals from the ground.
The plant grows tall and creates the ears of corn - its seeds.
The energy of the sunlight is stored in the leaves and inside the
corn kernels. The corn kernels are full of energy stored as
sugars and starch. The corn is harvested and is fed to chickens
and other animals. The chickens use the stored energy in the
corn on the cob to grow and to move. Some energy is stored in
the animal in its muscle tissue (protein) and in the fat.
The chicken reaches maturity, a farmer slaughters it and
prepares it to be sold. It's transported to the grocery store. Your
parents buy the chicken at the supermarket, bring it home and
cook it (using energy).
You then eat the chicken's meat and fat and convert that stored
energy into energy in your own body. Maybe you ate the
chicken at a picnic. Then you went and played baseball. You're
using the energy from that chicken to swing the bat, run the
bases and throw the ball.
As your body uses the energy from the chicken, you breathe in
oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. That carbon dioxide is then
used by other plants to grow.
So, it's a big circle!

Food is stored energy. It is stored as a chemical with potential energy. When your body uses that
stored energy to do work, it becomes kinetic energy.
If you overeat, the energy in food is not "burned" but is stored as potential energy in fat cells.
When you talk on the phone, your voice is transformed into electrical energy, which passes over
wires (or is transmitted through the air). The phone on the other end changes the electrical
energy into sound energy through the speaker.
A car uses stored chemical energy in gasoline to move. The engine changes the chemical energy
into heat and kinetic energy to power the car.
A toaster changes electrical energy into heat and light energy. (If you look into the toaster, you'll
see the glowing wires.)
A television changes electrical energy into light and sound energy.

Heat Energy
Heat is a form of energy. We use it for a lot of
things, like warming our homes and cooking our
food.
Heat energy moves in three ways:
1. Conduction
2. Convection
3. Radiation
Conduction occurs when energy is passed
directly from one item to another. If you stirred a
pan of soup on the stove with a metal spoon, the
spoon will heat up. The heat is being conducted
from the hot area of the soup to the colder area of spoon.
Metals are excellent conductors of heat energy. Wood or plastics are not. These "bad" conductors
are called insulators. That's why a pan is usually made of metal while the handle is made of a
strong plastic.
Convection is the movement of gases or liquids from a cooler spot to a warmer spot. If a soup
pan is made of glass, we could see the movement of convection currents in the pan. The warmer
soup moves up from the heated area at the bottom of the pan to the top where it is cooler. The
cooler soup then moves to take the warmer soup's place. The movement is in a circular pattern
within the pan (see picture above).
The wind we feel outside is often the result of
convection currents. You can understand this by the
winds you feel near an ocean. Warm air is lighter than
cold air and so it rises. During the daytime, cool air
over water moves to replace the air rising up as the
land warms the air over it. During the nighttime, the
directions change -- the surface of the water is
sometimes warmer and the land is cooler.
Radiation is the final form of movement of heat energy.
The sun's light and heat cannot reach us by
conduction or convection because space is almost
completely empty. There is nothing to transfer the
energy from the sun to the earth.
The sun's rays travel in straight lines called heat rays.
When it moves that way, it is called radiation.
When sunlight hits the earth, its radiation is absorbed
or reflected. Darker surfaces absorb more of the radiation and lighter surfaces reflect the
radiation. So you would be cooler if you wear light or white clothes in the summer.

Chapter 2: What Is Electricity?

Electricity figures everywhere in our lives. Electricity lights up our

homes, cooks our food, powers our computers, television sets, and
other electronic devices. Electricity from batteries keeps our cars
running and makes our flashlights shine in the dark.
Here's something you can do to see the importance of electricity.
Take a walk through your school, house or apartment and write
down all the different appliances, devices and machines that use
electricity. You'll be amazed at how many things we use each and
every day that depend on electricity.
But what is electricity? Where does it come from? How does it
work? Before we understand all that, we need to know a little bit
about atoms and their structure.
All matter is made up of atoms, and atoms are made up of smaller
particles. The three main particles making up an atom are the proton,
the neutron and the electron.
Electrons spin around the center, or nucleus, of atoms, in the same way
the moon spins around the earth. The nucleus is made up of neutrons
and protons.
Electrons contain a negative charge, protons a positive charge.
Neutrons are neutral -- they have neither a positive nor a negative
charge.
There are many different kinds of atoms, one for each type of element.
An atom is a single part that makes up an
element. There are 118 different known elements that make up every
thing! Some elements like oxygen we breathe are essential to life.
Each atom has a specific number of electrons, protons and neutrons.
But no matter how many particles an atom has, the number of
electrons usually needs to be the same as the number of protons. If
the numbers are the same, the atom is called balanced, and it is very
stable.
So, if an atom had six protons, it should also have six electrons. The
element with six protons and six electrons is called carbon. Carbon is
found in abundance in the sun, stars, comets, atmospheres of most
planets, and the food we eat. Coal is made of carbon; so are
diamonds
Some kinds of atoms have loosely attached electrons. An atom that
loses electrons has more protons than electrons and is positively

charged. An atom that gains electrons has more negative particles and is negatively charge. A
"charged" atom is called an "ion."
Electrons can be made to move from one atom to another.
When those electrons move between the atoms, a current of
electricity is created. The electrons move from one atom to
another in a "flow." One electron is attached and another
electron is lost.
This chain is similar to the fire fighter's bucket brigades in
olden times. But instead of passing one bucket from the start
of the line of people to the other end, each person would have
a bucket of water to pour from one bucket to another. The
result was a lot of spilled water and not enough water to
douse the fire. It is a situation that's very similar to electricity
passing along a wire and a circuit. The charge is passed from
atom to atom when electricity is "passed."
Scientists and engineers have learned many ways to move electrons off of atoms. That means
that when you add up the electrons and protons, you would wind up with one more proton instead
of being balanced.
Since all atoms want to be balanced, the atom that has been "unbalanced" will look for a free
electron to fill the place of the missing one. We say that this unbalanced atom has a "positive
charge" (+) because it has too many protons.
Since it got kicked off, the free electron moves around waiting for an unbalanced atom to give it a
home. The free electron charge is negative, and has no proton to balance it out, so we say that it
has a "negative charge" (-).
So what do positive and negative charges have
to do with electricity?
Scientists and engineers have found several
ways to create large numbers of positive atoms
and free negative electrons. Since positive
atoms want negative electrons so they can be
balanced, they have a strong attraction for the
electrons. The electrons also want to be part of
a balanced atom, so they have a strong
attraction to the positive atoms. So, the positive
attracts the negative to balance out.
The more positive atoms or negative electrons
you have, the stronger the attraction for the
other. Since we have both positive and negative
charged groups attracted to each other, we call
the total attraction "charge."
When electrons move among the atoms of
matter, a current of electricity is created. This is
what happens in a piece of wire. The electrons

Where Does the Word 'Electricity'

Come From?
Electrons, electricity, electronic and other words that begin with
"electr..." all originate from the Greek word "elektor," meaning
"beaming sun." In Greek, "elektron" is the word for amber.
Amber is a very pretty goldish brown "stone" that sparkles
orange and yellow in sunlight. Amber is actually fossilized tree
sap! It's the stuff used in the movie "Jurassic Park." Millions of
years ago insects got stuck in the tree sap. Small insects which
had bitten the dinosaurs, had blood with DNA from the
dinosaurs in the insect's bodies, which were now fossilized in
the amber.
Ancient Greeks discovered that amber behaved oddly - like
attracting feathers - when rubbed by fur or other objects. They
didn't know what it was that caused this phenomenon. But the
Greeks had discovered one of the first examples of static
electricity (see Chapter 3).
The Latin word, electricus, means to "produce from amber by
friction."
So, we get our English word electricity from Greek and Latin
words that were about amber.

10

are passed from atom to atom, creating an electrical current from one end to other, just like in the
picture.
Electricity is conducted through some things better than others do. Its resistance measures how
well something conducts electricity. Some things hold their electrons very tightly. Electrons do not
move through them very well. These things are called insulators. Rubber, plastic, cloth, glass and
dry air are good insulators and have very high resistance.
Other materials have some loosely held electrons, which move through them very easily. These
are called conductors. Most metals -- like copper, aluminum or steel -- are good conductors.

11

Chapter 3: Resistance and Static Electricity

As we have learned, some kinds of atoms contain loosely attached electrons. Electrons can be
made to move easily from one atom to another. When those electrons move among the atoms of
matter, a current of electricity is created.
Take a piece of wire. The electrons are passed from atom to atom, creating an electrical current
from one end to the other. Electrons are very, very small. A single copper penny contains more
than 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1x1022) electrons.
Electricity "flows" or moves through some things better than others do. The measurement of how
well something conducts electricity is called its resistance.
Resistance in wire depends on how thick and how long it is, and
what it's made of. The thickness of wire is called its guage. The
smaller the guage, the bigger the wire. Some of the largest
thicknesses of regular wire is guage 1.
Different types of metal are used in making wire. You can have
copper wire, aluminum wire, even steel wire. Each of these metals
has a different resistance; how well the metal conducts electricity.
The lower the resistance of a wire, the better it conducts electricity.
Copper is used in many wires because it has a lower resistance
than many other metals. The wires in your walls, inside your lamps
and elsewhere are usually copper.
A piece of metal can be made to act like a heater. When an
electrical current occurs, the resistance causes friction and the
friction causes heat. The higher the resistance, the hotter it can
get. So, a coiled wire high in resistance, like the wire in a hair dryer, can be very hot.
Some things conduct electricity very poorly. These are called insulators. Rubber is a good
insulator, and that's why rubber is used to cover wires in an electric cord. Glass is another good
insulator. If you look at the end of a power line, you'll see that it is attached to some bumpy
looking things. These are glass insulators. They keep the metal of the wires from touching the
metal of the towers.

Static Electricity
Another type of electrical energy is static electricity. Unlike current electricity that moves, static
electricity stays in one place.

12

Try this experiment...

Rub a balloon filled with air on a wool sweater or on your hair. Then hold it up to a wall. The
balloon will stay there by itself.
Tie strings to the ends of two balloons. Now rub the two
balloons together, hold them by strings at the end and put them
next to each other. They'll move apart.
Rubbing the balloons gives them static electricity. When you
rub the balloon it picks up extra electrons from the sweater or
your hair and becomes slightly negatively charged.
The negative charges in the single balloon are attracted to the
positive charges in the wall.
The two balloons hanging by strings both have negative
charges. Negative charges always repel negative charges and
positive always repels positive charges. So, the two balloons'
negative charges "push" each other apart.
Static electricity can also give you a shock. If you walk across a carpet, shuffling your feet and
touching something made of metal, a spark can jump between you and the metal object. Shuffling
your feet picks up additional electrons spread over your body. When you touch a metal doorknob
or something with a positive charge the electricity jumps across the small gap from your fingers
just before you touch the metal knob. If you walk across a carpet and touch a computer case, you
can damage the computer.
One other type of static electricity is very spectacular. It's the
lightning in a thunder and lightning storm. Clouds become
negatively charged as ice crystals inside the clouds rub up
against each other. Meanwhile, on the ground, the positive
charge increases. The clouds get so highly charged that the
electrons jump from the ground to the cloud, or from one cloud to
another cloud. This causes a huge spark of static electricity in the
sky that we call lightning.
You can find out more about lightning at Web Weather for Kids www.ucar.edu/40th/webweather/

But What Is Static Electricity?

You'll remember from Chapter 2 that the word "electricity" came from the Greek words "elektor,"
for "beaming sun" and "elektron," both words describing amber. Amber is fossilized tree sap
millions of years old and has hardened as hard as a stone.
Around 600 BCE (Before the Common Era) Greeks noticed a strange effect: When rubbing
"elektron" against a piece of fur, the amber would start attracting particles of dust, feathers and

13

straw. No one paid much attention to this "strange effect" until about 1600 when Dr. William
Gilbert investigated the reactions of magnets and amber and discovered other objects can be
made "electric."
Gilbert said that amber acquired what he called "resinous electricity" when rubbed with fur. Glass,
however, when rubbed with silk, acquired what he termed "vitreous electricity."
He thought that electricity repeled the same kind and attracts the opposite kind of electricity.
Gilbert and other scientists of that time thought that the friction actually created the electricity
(their word for the electrical charge).
In 1747, Benjamin Franklin in America and William Watson in England both reached the same
conclusion. They said all materials possess a single kind of electrical "fluid." They didn't really
know anything about atoms and electrons, so they called how it behaved it a "fluid.
They thought that this fluid can penetrate matter freely and couldn't be created or destroyed. The
two men thought that the action of rubbing (like rubbing amber with fur) moves this unseen fluid
from one thing to another, electrifying both.
Franklin defined the fluid as positive and the lack of fluid as negative. Therefore, according to
Franklin, the direction of flow was from positive to negative. Today, we know that the opposite is
true. Electricity flows from negative to positive. Others took the idea even further saying this that
two fluids are involved. They said items with the same fluid attract each other. And opposite types
of fluid in objects will make them repel each other.
All of this was only partially right. This is how scientific theories develop. Someone thinks of why
something occurs and then proposes an explanation. It can take centuries sometime to find the
real truth. Instead of electricity being a fluid, it is the movement of the charged particles between
the objects... the two objects are really exchanging electrons.

14

Chapter 4: Circuits

Electrons with a negative charge, can't "jump" through the air to a positively charged atom. They
have to wait until there is a link or bridge between
the negative area and the positive area. We
usually call this bridge a "circuit."
When a bridge is created, the electrons begin
moving quickly. Depending on the resistance of
the material making up the bridge, they try to get
across as fast as they can. If you're not careful,
too many electrons can go across at one time and
destroy the "bridge" or the circuit, in the process.
In Chapter 3, we learned about electrons and the
attraction between positive and negative charges.
We also learned that we can create a bridge called a "circuit" between the charges.
We can limit the number of electrons crossing over the "circuit," by letting only a certain number
through at a time. And we can make electricity do something for us while they are on their way.
For example, we can "make" the electrons "heat" a filament in a bulb, causing it to glow and give
off light.
When we limit the number of electrons that
can cross over our circuit, we say we are
giving it "resistance.". We "resist" letting all the
electrons through. This works something like a
tollbooth on a freeway bridge. Copper wire is
just one type of bridge we use in circuits.
Before electrons can move far, however, they
can collide with one of the atoms along the
way. This slows them down or even reverses
their direction. As a result, they lose energy to
the atoms. This energy appears as heat, and
the scattering is a resistance to the current.
Think of the bridge as a garden hose. The current of electricity is the water flowing in the hose
and the water pressure is the voltage of a circuit. The diameter of the hose is the determining
factor for the resistance.
Current refers to the movement of charges. In an electrical circuit - electrons move from the
negative pole to the positive. If you connected the positive pole of an electrical source to the
negative pole, you create a circuit. This charge changes into electrical energy when the poles are
connected in a circuit -- similar to connecting the two poles on opposite ends of a battery.
Along the circuit you can have a light bulb and an on-off switch. The light bulb changes the
electrical energy into light and heat energy.

15

Circuit Experiment
As a boy, Thomas Edison built a small
laboratory in his cellar. His early experiments
helped develop a very inquisitive mind. His
whole life was spent thinking about how things
work and dreaming up new inventions. The
light bulb and movie projector are just two of
dozens of inventions.
You can build a very basic electrical circuit
similar to what Edison may have crafted as a
boy. And you can find out what happens when
a current is "open" compared with when it's
"closed."

16

An Electrical Circuit
(From humorist Dave Barry's book Dave Barry in Cyberspace)

Here's What You need:

1. Penlight bulb
2. Flashlight battery
3. Two 6" pieces of insulated wire (any
kind will work)
4. Tape to keep the wire on the end of
the battery
5. A small piece of thin flat metal to
make a "switch"
6. Small block of wood
Here's What to Do
1. To make a switch:
o Take the block of wood and
stick one thumb tack in
o Push the other thumbtack
through the thin piece of flat
metal.
o Push the thumb tack into the
wood so that the piece of
metal can touch the other
thumb tack (see picture)
2. Connect the first piece of wire to a
thumbtack on the switch.
3. Place the light bulb in the center of
this wire piece.
4. Tape the end of the first piece of wire
to one end of the battery.
5. Tape your second piece of wire to the
opposite end of the battery.
6. Attach the end of your second piece
of wire to the remaining thumbtack on
the switch.

"Electricity is supplied by the wall socket, which

is in turn connected to the electrical company
via big overhead wires with squirrels running
on them.
"A question many people ask ... is, 'How come
the squirrels don't get electrocuted?' To answer
that question, we need to understand exactly
what an electrical circuit is.
"When you turn on a switch, electricity flows
through the wire into the appliance, where it is
converted via a process called electrolysis into
tiny microwaves. These fly around inside the
oven area until they locate the Hungry Hombre
Heat 'n' Eat Hearty Burrito entree; they then
signal the location to each other by slapping
their tails in a distinctive pattern. The workers,
or drones, then ... swarm around the queen;
this causes the rapid warming that makes the
entree edible and leads via amino acids, to
digestion.
"This is followed by grunting and flushing, with
the outflow traveling via underground pipes to
the sewage treatment plant, which in turn
releases purified water into the river, where it is
used to form waterfalls, which rotate the giant
turbines that produce the electricity that flows
through wires back to your appliance, thereby
completing the circuit.
"So we see that squirrels have nothing
whatsoever to do with it. There is no need for
you to worry about squirrels; believe me, they
are not worrying about you."

Please Note: THIS IS A JOKE!!!

You've created an electrical circuit.

When you press the switch connecting the two thumbtacks, your circuit is "closed" and your
current flows -- turning your light bulb on. When your switch is up, your circuit is "open" and your
current can not flow -- turning your light bulb off, just like Thomas Edison's may have done.
The number of electrons we are willing to let across the circuit at one time is called "current". We
measure current using amperes, or "Amps".
One AMP is defined as 625,000,000,000,000,000,000 (6.25 x 10 18) electrons moving across your
circuit every second!
Since no one wants to remember such a big number, that big number is called a "coulomb," after
the scientist Charles A Coulomb who helped discover what a current of electricity is.

17

The amount of charge between the sides of the circuit is called "voltage." We measure Voltage in
Volts. The word volt is named after another scientist, Alexader Volta, who built the world's first
battery.
You'll remember that back in Chapter 1, we defined energy as the "ability to do work."
Well, one volt is defined as the amount of electrical charge needed to make one Coulomb
(625,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons) do one a specific amount of work -- which is labeled
one joule.
Joule is also named after a scientist, James Prescott Joule. Do you remember him from Chapter
2?
Voltage, Current and Resistance are very important to circuits. If either voltage or current is too
big you could break the circuit. But if either is too small, the circuit will not be able to work enough
to be useful to us. In the same way, if the resistance is too big none of the electrons would be
able to get though at all, but if it were too small, they would rush though all at once breaking the
circuit on their way.

Parallel Circuits!
When we have only one circuit that electrons
can go through to get to the other side we call
it a "series circuit."
If we were to set up another circuit next to the
first one, we would have two circuits between
the charges. We call these "parallel circuits"
because they run parallel to each other. You
can have as many parallel circuits as you
want. Parallel circuits share the same voltage, but they allow more paths for the electricity to go
over. This means that the total number of electrons that can get across (the current) can increase,
without breaking either circuit.

Electric Motors

18

An electric motor uses circuits wound round and round. These wound circuits are
suspended between magnets. (We send a 'thank you' to How Stuff Works Website for their
electric motor graphic.)
A motor works through electromagnetism. It has a coiled up wire (the circuit) that sits between the
north and south poles of a magnet. When current flows through the coiled circuit, another
magnetic field is produced. The north pole of the fixed magnet attracts the south pole of the coiled
wire. The two north poles push away, or repulse, each other. The motor is set up in a way that
attraction and repulsion spins the center section with the coiled wire.

19

Chapter 5: Stored Energy and Batteries

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be saved in

various forms. One way to store it is in the form of chemical
energy in a battery. When connected in a circuit, a battery can
produce electricity.
If you look at a battery, it will have two ends -- a positive
terminal and a negative terminal. If you connect the two
terminals with wire, a circuit is formed. Electrons will flow
through the wire and a current of electricity is produced.
Inside the battery, a reaction between the chemicals takes
place. But reaction takes place only if there is a flow of
electrons. Batteries can be stored for a long time and still work
because the chemical process doesn't start until the electrons
flow from the negative to the positive terminals through a
circuit.

20

SIDEBAR
As we read in Chapter 1, Alessandro Volta
created the first battery (also see our "Super
Scientists" page).

How the Chemical Reaction

Takes Place in a Battery
A very simple modern battery is the zinccarbon battery, called the carbon battery for
short.

Volta called his battery the Voltaic Pile. He

stacked alternating layers of zinc, cardboard
soaked in salt water and silver. It looked like
this:

This battery contains acidic material within

and a rod of zinc down the center. Here's
where knowing a little bit of chemistry helps.
When zinc is inserted into an acid, the acid
begins to eat away at the zinc, releasing
hydrogen gas and heat energy. The acid
molecules break up into its components:
usually hydrogen and other atoms. The
process releases electrons from the
Zinc atoms that combine with hydrogen ions
in the acid to create the hydrogen gas.
If a rod of carbon is inserted into the acid, the
acid does nothing to it.

If you attach a wire to the top and bottom of the

pile, you create an electric current because of
the flow of electrons. Adding another layer will
increase the amount of electricity produced by
the pile.

But if you connect the carbon rod to the zinc

rod with a wire, creating a circuit, electrons will begin to flow through the wire and combine with
hydrogen on the carbon rod. This still releases a little bit of hydrogen gas but it makes less heat.
Some of that heat energy is the energy that is flowing through the circuit.
The energy in that circuit can now light a light bulb in a flashlight or turn a small motor. Depending
on the size of the battery, it can even start an automobile.
Eventually, the zinc rod is completely dissolved by the acid in the battery, and the battery can no
longer be used.
For a "great" on-line page about batteries, visit the Energizer Learning Center.

Different Types of Batteries

Different types of batteries use different types of chemicals and chemical reactions. Some of the
more common types of batteries are:

Alkaline battery -- Used in Duracell and Energizer and other alkaline batteries. The
electrodes are zinc and manganese-oxide. The electrolyte is an alkaline paste.
Lead-acid battery -- These are used in automobiles. The electrodes are made of lead and
lead-oxide with a strong acid as the electrolyte.
Lithium battery -- These batteries are used in cameras for the flash bulb. They are made
with lithium, lithium-iodide and lead-iodide. They can supply surges of electricity for the
flash.

21

Lithium-ion battery -- These batteries are found in laptop computers, cell phones and
other high-use portable equipment.
Nickel-cadmium or NiCad battery -- The electrodes are nickel-hydroxide and cadmium.
The electrolyte is potassium-hydroxide.
Zinc-carbon battery or standard carbon battery -- Zinc and carbon are used in all regular
or standard AA, C and D dry-cell batteries. The electrodes are made of zinc and carbon,
with a paste of acidic materials between them serving as the electrolyte.

Food - Another Method of Storing Energy

Batteries store energy in a chemical process, but there are other ways of storing energy.
Consider the "food chain" on our planet.
Plants, like grass in a meadow, convert the sun's energy through photosynthesis into stored
chemical energy. This energy is stored in the plant cells is used by the plant to grow, repair itself
and reproduce itself.
Cows and other animals eat the energy stored in the grass or grain and convert that energy into
stored energy in their bodies. When we eat meat and other animal products, we in turn, store that
energy in our own bodies. We use the stored energy to walk, run, ride a bike or even read a page
on the Internet.

22

Chapter 6: Turbines, Generators and Power Plants

As we learned in Chapter 2, electricity flows
through wires to light our lamps, run TVs,
computers and all other electrical
appliances. But where does the electricity
come from?
In this chapter, we'll learn how electricity is
generated in a power plant. In the next few
chapters, we'll learn about the various
resources that are used to make the heat to
produce electricity. In Chapter 7, we'll learn
how the electricity gets from the power plant
to homes, school and businesses.
Thermal power plants have big boilers that
burn a fuel to make heat. A boiler is like a
teapot on a stove. When the water boils, the
steam comes through a tiny hole on the top
of the spout. The moving steam makes a
whistle that tells you the water has boiled. In
a power plant, the water is brought to a boil
inside the boiler, and the steam is then piped
to the turbine through very thick pipes.
In most boilers, wood, coal, oil or natural gas
is burned in a firebox to make heat. Running
through the fire box and above that hot fire
are a series of pipes with water running
through them. The heat energy is conducted
into the metal pipes, heating the water in the
pipes until it boils into steam. Water boils
into steam at 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100
degrees Celsius.
The top picture on the right is of a small
power plant located at Michigan State
University. The black area to the left of the
power plant is coal, the energy source that is
burned to heat the water in the boilers of this
plant.
In the second picture to the right, you'll see
the turbine and generator at MSU's power
plant. The big pipe on the left side is the
steam inlet. On the right side of the turbine is
where the steam comes out. The steam is
fed under high pressure to the turbine. The
turbine spins and its shaft is connected to a
turbogenerator that changes the mechanical

23

spinning energy into electricity.

The third picture on the right is of the turbine
fan before it is placed inside the turbine
housing. You can see a close-up of the
turbine blades on the fourth picture. The
turbine has many hundreds of blades that
are turned at an angle like the blades of a
fan. When the steam hits the blades they
spin the turbine's shaft that is attached to the
bottom of the blades.
After the steam goes through the turbine, it
usually goes to a cooling tower outside the
where the steam cools off. It cools off and
becomes water again. When the hot pipes
come into contact with cool air, some water
vapor in the air is heated and steam is given
off above the cooling towers. That's why you
see huge white clouds sometimes being
given off by the cooling towers. It's not
smoke, but is water vapor or steam. This is
not the same steam that is used inside the
turbine.
The cooled water then goes back into the
boiler where it is heated again and the
process repeats over and over.
Most power plants in California use cleanerburning natural gas to produce electricity.
Others use oil or coal to heat the water.
Nuclear power plants use nuclear energy to
heat water to make electricity. Still others,
called geothermal power plants, use steam
or hot water found naturally below the
earth's surface without burning a fuel. We'll
learn about those energy sources in the next
few chapters.

How the Generator Works

The turbine is attached by a shaft to the
turbogenerator. The generator has a long,
coiled wire on its shaft surrounded by a giant
magnet. You can see the inside of the
generator coil with all its wires in the picture
on the right.
The shaft that comes out of the turbine is

24

connected to the generator. When the

turbine turns, the shaft and rotor is turned.
As the shaft inside the generator turns, an
electric current is produced in the wire. The
electric generator is converting mechanical,
moving energy into electrical energy.
The generator is based on the principle of
"electromagnetic induction" discovered in
1831 by Michael Faraday, a British scientist.
Faraday discovered that if an electric
conductor, like a copper wire, is moved
through a magnetic field, electric current will
flow (or "be induced") in the conductor. So
the mechanical energy of the moving wire is
converted into the electric energy of the
current that flows in the wire.
The electricity produced by the generator
then flows through huge transmission wires
that link the power plants to our homes,
school and businesses. If you want to learn
about transmission lines, go to Chapter 7.
All power plants have turbines and
generators. Some turbines are turned by
wind, some by water, some by steam.

25

Chapter 7: Electricity Transmission System

After electricity is produced at power
plants it has to get to the customers that
use the electricity. Our cities, towns,
states and the entire country are crisscrossed with power lines that "carry" the
electricity.
As large generators spin, they produce
electricity with a voltage of about 25,000
volts. A volt is a measurement of
electromotive force in electricity. This is
the electric force that "pushes" electrons
around a circuit. "Volt" is named after
Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist
who invented the first battery.
The electricity first goes to a transformer
at the power plant that boosts the voltage
up to 400,000 volts. When electricity
travels long distances it is better to have
it at higher voltages. Another way of
saying this is that electricity can be
transferred more efficiently at high
voltages.
The long thick cables of transmission
lines are made of copper or aluminum
because they have a low resistance. You'll
remember from Chapter 3 that the higher
the resistance of a wire, the warmer it
gets. So, some of the electrical energy is
lost because it is changed into heat
energy. High voltage transmission lines
carry electricity long distances to a
substation.

People look at a series of Hydro-Quebec

high voltage towers near St-Bruno,
Quebec, Canada, south of Montreal, that
collapsed after a severe ice storm hit
southwest Quebec. The storm left more
than 1.4 million households out of
electricity.
Photo credit:
Jacques Boissinot/CP PHOTO

The power lines go into substations near

businesses, factories and homes. Here
transformers change the very high
voltage electricity back into lower
voltage electricity.

26

From these substations (like in the photo

to the right), electricity in different power
levels is used to run factories, streetcars
and mass transit, light street lights and
stop lights, and is sent to your
neighborhood.
In your neighborhood, another small
transformer mounted on pole (see
picture) or in a utility box converts the
power to even lower levels to be used in
your house. The voltage is eventually
reduced to 220 volts for larger
appliances, like stoves and clothes dryers,
and 110 volts for lights, TVs and other
smaller appliances.
Rather than over-head lines, some new
distribution lines are underground. The
power lines are protected from the
weather, which can cause line to break.
Have you ever seen what happens after
an ice storm?
The picture on the right shows high
voltage towers that crumpled from the
weight of ice during a 1998 ice storm that
hit Canada and parts of the United States.
More than 1,000 high voltage towers and
30,000 wooden utility poles were
destroyed in Canada by the storm.
Close to 1.4 million people in Quebec
and 230,000 in Ontario were without
electricity. In many places, power not
fully restored for up to a week. Weather
people called it the most destructive
storm in Canadian history.
When electricity enters your home, it
must pass through a meter. A utility
company worker reads the meter so the
company will know how much electricity

27

you used and can bill you for the cost.

After being metered, the electricity goes
through a fuse box into your home. The
fuse box protects the house in case of
problems. When a fuse (or a circuit
breaker) "blows" or "trips" something is
wrong with an appliance or something
was short- circuited.
Energy Safety Note!
Never play around a transformer. If a ball or toy lands in or near a transformer, go
and tell your parents to call the electric company. The electricity from a
transformer could kill you.
Never fly a kite around electrical lines. The kite string could link across the wires,
completing a circuit. The electricity could be transferred back to you holding the
string.
Never let a balloon - especially a mylar foil balloon - escape into the sky. When the
helium of the balloon escapes, the balloon can come down a long way aways. The
wire or the mylar surface could stretch across high voltage electrical wires causing
problems or even a fire.
You should never touch wires inside or outside your house. You should only let an
electrician who knows electricity safety work on the wires.

28

Chapter 8: Fossil Fuels - Coal, Oil and Natural Gas

Where Fossil Fuels Come From
There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. All three were formed many
hundreds of millions of years ago before the time of the dinosaurs - hence the name fossil fuels.
The age they were formed is called the Carboniferous Period. It was part of the Paleozoic Era.
"Carboniferous" gets its name from carbon, the basic element in coal and other fossil fuels.

The Carboniferous Period occurred from about 360 to 286 million

years ago. At the time, the land was covered with swamps filled with
huge trees, ferns and other large leafy plants, similar to the picture
above. The water and seas were filled with algae - the green stuff
that forms on a stagnant pool of water. Algae is actually millions of
very small plants.
Some deposits of coal can be found during the time of the dinosaurs.
For example, thin carbon layers can be found during the late
Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago) - the time of
Tyrannosaurus Rex. But the main deposits of fossil fuels are from the
Carboniferous Period. For more about the various geologic eras, go
to www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html
As the trees and plants died, they sank to the bottom of the swamps of oceans. They formed
layers of a spongy material called peat. Over many hundreds of years, the peat was covered by
sand and clay and other minerals, which turned into a type of rock called sedimentary.
More and more rock piled on top of more rock, and it weighed more and more. It began to press
down on the peat. The peat was squeezed and squeezed until the water came out of it and it
eventually, over millions of years, it turned into coal, oil or petroleum, and natural gas.

29

Coal
Coal is a hard, black colored rock-like
substance. It is made up of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen and varying amounts of
sulphur. There are three main types of coal anthracite, bituminous and lignite. Anthracite
coal is the hardest and has more carbon, which
gives it a higher energy content. Lignite is the
softest and is low in carbon but high in hydrogen
and oxygen content. Bituminous is in between.
Today, the precursor to coal - peat - is still found
in many countries and is also used as an energy
source.
The earliest known use of coal was in China. Coal from the Fu-shun mine in northeastern China
may have been used to smelt copper as early as 3,000 years ago. The Chinese thought coal was
a stone that could burn.
Coal is found in many of the lower 48
states of U.S. and throughout the rest of
the world. Coal is mined out of the ground
using various methods. Some coal mines
are dug by sinking vertical or horizontal
shafts deep under ground, and coal
miners travel by elevators or trains deep
under ground to dig the coal. Other coal is
mined in strip mines where huge steam
shovels strip away the top layers above
the coal. The layers are then restored after
the coal is taken away.
The coal is then shipped by train and
boats and even in pipelines. In pipelines, the coal is ground up and mixed with water to make
what's called a slurry. This is then pumped many miles through pipelines. At the other end, the
coal is used to fuel power plants and other factories.

30

Oil or Petroleum
Oil is another fossil fuel. It was also formed
more than 300 million years ago. Some
scientists say that tiny diatoms are the source
of oil. Diatoms are sea creatures the size of a
pin head. They do one thing just like plants;
they can convert sunlight directly into stored
energy.
In the graphic on the left, as the diatoms died
they fell to the sea floor (1). Here they were
buried under sediment and other rock (2). The
rock squeezed the diatoms and the energy in
their bodies could not escape. The carbon
eventually turned into oil under great pressure
and heat. As the earth changed and moved
and folded, pockets where oil and natural gas
can be found were formed (3).
Oil has been used for more than 5,000-6,000 years. The ancient Sumerians, Assyrians and
Babylonians used crude oil and asphalt ("pitch") collected from large seeps at Tuttul (modern-day
Hit) on the Euphrates River. A seep is a place on the ground where the oil leaks up from below
ground. The ancient Egyptians, used liquid oil as a medicine for wounds, and oil has been used in
lamps to provide light.
The Dead Sea, near the modern Country of Israel, used to be called Lake Asphaltites. The word
asphalt was derived is from that term because of the lumps of gooey petroleum that were washed
up on the lake shores from underwater seeps.
In North America, Native Americans used blankets to skim oil off the surface of streams and
lakes. They used oil as medicine and to make canoes water-proof. During the Revolutionary War,
Native Americans taught George Washington's troops how to treat frostbite with oil.
As our country grew, the demand for oil continued to increase as a fuel
for lamps. Petroleum oil began to replace whale oil in lamps because
the price for whale oil was very high. During this time, most petroleum
oil came from distilling coal into a liquid or by skimming it off of lakes just as the Native Americans did.
Then on August 27, 1859, Edwin L. Drake (the man standing on the
right in the black and white picture to the right), struck liquid oil at his
well near Titusville, Pennsylvania. He found oil under ground and a
way that could pump it to the surface. The well pumped the oil into
barrels made out of wood. This method of drilling for oil is still being
used today all over the world in areas where oil can be found below the
surface.
Oil and natural gas are found under ground between folds of rock and
in areas of rock that are porous and contain the oils within the rock
itself. The folds of rock were formed as the earth shifts and moves. It's
similar to how a small, throw carpet will bunch up in places on the floor.

31

To find oil and natural gas, companies drill through the earth to the deposits deep below the
surface. The oil and natural gas are then pumped from below the ground by oil rigs (like in the
picture). They then usually travel through pipelines or by ship.

Oil is found in 18 of the 58 counties in California. Kern

County, the County where Bakersfield is found, is one
of the largest oil production places in the country. But
we only get one-half of our oil from California wells.
The rest comes from Alaska, and an increasing
amount comes from other countries. In the entire U.S.,
more than 50 percent of all the oil we use comes from
outside the country...most of it from the Middle East.
Oil is brought to California by large tanker ships. The
petroleum or crude oil must be changed or refined into
other products before it can be used.

Refineries
Oil is stored in large tanks until it is sent to various
places to be used. At oil refineries, crude oil is split
into various types of products by heating the thick
black oil.
Oil is made into many different products - fertilizers
for farms, the clothes you wear, the toothbrush you
use, the plastic bottle that holds your milk, the
plastic pen that you write with. They all came from
oil. There are thousands of other products that
come from oil. Almost all plastic comes originally
from oil. Can you think of some other things made
from oil?
The products include gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation or jet fuel, home heating oil, oil for ships and
oil to burn in power plants to make electricity. Here's what a barrel of crude oil can make.

32

In California, 74 percent of our oil is used for transportation -- cars, planes, trucks, buses and
motorcycles. We'll learn more about transportation energy in Chapter 18.

Source: American Petroleum Institute (www.api.org). Figures are

based on 1995 average yields for U.S. refineries. One barrel
contains 42 gallons of crude oil. The total volume of products made
is 44.2 GALLONS - 2.2 gallons greater than the original 42 gallons of
crude oil. This is called "processing gain," where other chemicals are
added to the refining process to create the products.

33

Natural Gas
Sometime between 6,000 to 2,000 years BCE (Before the Common Era), the first discoveries of
natural gas seeps were made in Iran. Many early writers described the natural petroleum seeps in
the Middle East, especially in the Baku region of what is now Azerbaijan. The gas seeps,
probably first ignited by lightning, provided the fuel for the "eternal fires" of the fire-worshiping
religion of the ancient Persians.
Natural gas is lighter than air. Natural gas is mostly made up of a gas called methane. Methane is
a simple chemical compound that is made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It's chemical
formula is CH4 - one atom of carbon along with four atoms hydrogen. This gas is highly
flammable.
Natural gas is usually found near petroleum underground. It is pumped from below ground and
travels in pipelines to storage areas. The next chapter looks at that pipeline system.
Natural gas usually has no odor and you can't see it. Before it is sent to the pipelines and storage
tanks, it is mixed with a chemical that gives a strong odor. The odor smells almost like rotten
eggs. The odor makes it easy to smell if there is a leak.

Energy Safety Note! If you smell that rotten egg smell in your
house, tell your folks and get out of the house quickly. Don't turn on any
lights or other electrical devices. A spark from a light switch can ignite
the gas very easily. Go to a neighbor's house and call 9-1-1 for
emergency help.

Saving Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels take millions of years to make. We are using up the fuels that were made more than
300 million years ago before the time of the dinosaurs. Once they are gone they are gone.
So, it's best to not waste fossil fuels. They are not renewable; they can't really be made again. We
can save fossil fuels by conserving energy.

34

Chapter 9: Natural Gas Distribution System

We learned in Chapter 8 that natural gas is a fossil fuel. It
is a gaseous molecule that's made up of two atoms - one
carbon atom combined with four hydrogen atom. It's
chemical formula is CH4. The picture on the right is a
model of what the molecule could look like.
Don't confuse natural gas with "gasoline," which we call
"gas" for short. Like oil, natural gas is found under ground
and under the ocean floor. Wells are drilled to tap into
natural gas reservoirs just like drilling for oil. Once a drill
has hit an area that contains natural gas, it can be brought
to the surface through pipes.
The natural gas has to get from the wells to us. To do that,
there is a huge network of pipelines that brings natural gas
from the gas fields to us. Some of these pipes are two feet wide.
Natural gas is sent in larger pipelines to power plants to make electricity or to factories because
they use lots of gas. Bakeries use natural gas to heat ovens to bake bread, pies, pastries and
cookies. Other businesses use natural gas for heating their buildings or heating water.
From larger pipelines, the gas goes through smaller and smaller pipes to your neighborhood.
In businesses and in your home, the natural gas must first pass through a meter, which measures
the amount of fuel going into the building. A gas company worker reads the meter and the
company will charge you for the amount of natural gas you used.
In some homes, natural gas is used for cooking, heating water and heating the house in a
furnace.
In rural areas, where there are no natural gas
pipelines, propane (another form of gas that's often
made when oil is refined) or bottled gas is used
instead of natural gas. Propane is also called LPG, or
liquefied petroleum gas, is made up of methane and a
mixture with other gases like butane.
Propane turns to a liquid when it is placed under slight
pressure. For regular natural gas to turn into a liquid, it
has to be made very, very cold.
Cars and trucks can also use natural gas as a
transportation fuel, but they must carry special
cylinder-like tanks to hold the fuel.
When natural gas is burned to make heat or burned in a car's engine, it burns very cleanly. When
you combine natural gas with oxygen (the process of combustion), you produce carbon dioxide
and water vapor; plus the energy that's released in heat and light.

35

Some impurities are contained in all natural gas. These include sulphur and butane and other
chemicals. When burned, those impurities can create air pollution. The amount of pollution from
natural gas is less than burning a more "complex" fuel like gasoline. Natural gas-powered cars
are more than 90 percent cleaner than a gasoline-powered car.
That's why many people feel natural gas would be a good fuel for cars because it burns cleanly.

36

Chapter 10: Biomass Energy

Biomass is matter usually thought of as garbage. Some
of it is just stuff lying around -- dead trees, tree
branches, yard clippings, left-over crops, wood chips
(like in the picture to the right), and bark and sawdust
from lumber mills. It can even include used tires and
livestock manure.
Your trash, paper products that can't be recycled into
other paper products, and other household waste are
normally sent to the dump. Your trash contains some
types of biomass that can be reused. Recycling biomass
for fuel and other uses cuts down on the need for
"landfills" to hold garbage.
This stuff nobody seems to want can be used to produce electricity, heat, compost material or
fuels. Composting material is decayed plant or food products mixed together in a compost pile
and spread to help plants grow.
California produces more than 60 million bone dry tons of biomass each year. Of this total, five
million bone dry tons is now burned to make electricity. This is biomass from lumber mill wastes,
urban wood waste, forest and agricultural residues and other feed stocks.
If all of it was used, the 60 million tons of biomass in California could make close to 2,000
megawatts of electricity for California's growing population and economy. That's enough energy to
make electricity for about two million homes!
How biomass works is very simple. The waste wood, tree
branches and other scraps are gathered together in big trucks.
The trucks bring the waste from factories and from farms to a
biomass power plant. Here the biomass is dumped into huge
hoppers. This is then fed into a furnace where it is burned. The
heat is used to boil water in the boiler, and the energy in the
steam is used to turn turbines and generators (see Chapter 8).
Biomass can also be tapped right at the landfill with burning
waster products. When garbage decomposes, it gives off
methane gas. You'll remember in chapters 8 and 9 that natural
gas is made up of methane. Pipelines are put into the landfills
and the methane gas can be collected. It is then used in power
plants to make electricity. This type of biomass is called landfill
gas.
A similar thing can be done at animal feed lots. In places where
lots of animals are raised, the animals - like cattle, cows and
even chickens - produce manure. When manure decomposes,
it also gives off methane gas similar to garbage. This gas can
be burned right at the farm to make energy to run the farm.

37

Using biomass can help reduce global warming compared to a fossil fuel-powered plant. Plants
use and store carbon dioxide (CO2) when they grow. CO2 stored in the plant is released when
the plant material is burned or decays. By replanting the crops, the new plants can use the CO2
produced by the burned plants. So using biomass and replanting helps close the carbon dioxide
cycle. However, if the crops are not replanted, then biomass can emit carbon dioxide that will
contribute toward global warming.
So, the use of biomass can be environmentally friendly because
the biomass is reduced, recycled and then reused. It is also a
renewable resource because plants to make biomass can be
grown over and over.
Today, new ways of using biomass are still being discovered. One
way is to produce ethanol, a liquid alcohol fuel. Ethanol can be
used in special types of cars that are made for using alcohol fuel
instead of gasoline. The alcohol can also be combined with
gasoline. This reduces our dependence on oil - a non-renewable
fossil fuel.

38

Chapter 11: Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Energy has been around for as long as the Earth has existed. "Geo" means earth,
and "thermal" means heat. So, geothermal means earth-heat.
Have you ever cut a boiled egg in half? The egg is similar to how the earth looks like inside. The
yellow yolk of the egg is like the core of the
earth. The white part is the mantle of the earth.
And the thin shell of the egg, that would have
surrounded the boiled egg if you didn't peel it
off, is like the earth's crust.
Below the crust of the earth, the top layer of
the mantle is a hot liquid rock called magma.
The crust of the earth floats on this liquid
magma mantle. When magma breaks through
the surface of the earth in a volcano, it is called lava.
For every 100 meters you go below ground, the temperature of the rock increases about 3
degrees Celsius. Or for every 328 feet below ground, the temperature increases 5.4 degrees
Fahrenheit. So, if you went about 10,000 feet below ground, the temperature of the rock would be
hot enough to boil water.
Deep under the surface,
water sometimes makes its
way close to the hot rock
and turns into boiling hot
water or into steam. The hot
water can reach
temperatures of more than
300 degrees Fahrenheit
(148 degrees Celsius). This
is hotter than boiling water
(212 degrees F / 100
degrees C). It doesn't turn
into steam because it is not
in contact with the air.
When this hot water comes up through a crack in the earth, we call it a hot spring, like Emerald
Pool at Yellowstone National Park pictured on the left. Or, it sometimes explodes into the air as a
geyser, like Old Faithful Geyser pictured on the right.
About 10,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians used hot springs in North American for cooking. Areas
around hot springs were neutral zones. Warriors of fighting tribes would bathe together in peace.
Every major hot spring in the United States can be associated with Native American tribes.
California hot springs, like at the Geysers in the Napa area, were important and sacred areas to
tribes from that area.
In other places around the world, people used hot springs for rest and relaxation. The ancient
Romans built elaborate buildings to enjoy hot baths, and the Japanese have enjoyed natural hot
springs for centuries.

39

Geothermal Today
Today, people use the geothermally heated hot water in
swimming pools and in health spas. Or, the hot water from
below the ground can warm buildings for growing plants, like
in the green house on the right.
In San Bernardino, in Southern California, hot water from
below ground is used to heat buildings during the winter. The
hot water runs through miles of insulated pipes to dozens of
public buildings. The City Hall, animal shelters, retirement
homes, state agencies, a hotel and convention center are
some of the buildings which are heated this way.
In the Country of Iceland, many of the buildings and even swimming pools in the capital of
Reykjavik (RECK-yah-vick) and elsewhere are heated with geothermal hot water. The country
has at least 25 active volcanoes and many hot springs and geysers.

Geothermal Electricity
Hot water or steam from below ground can also be used to
make electricity in a geothermal power plant.
In California, there are 14 areas where we use geothermal
energy to make electricity. The red areas on the map show
where there are known geothermal areas. Some are not
used yet because the resource is too small, too isolated or
the water temperatures are not hot enough to make
electricity.
The main spots are:

The Geysers area north of San Francisco

In the northwest corner of the state near Lassen
Volcanic National Park
In the Mammoth Lakes area - the site of a huge
ancient volcano
In the Coso Hot Springs area in Inyo County
In the Imperial Valley in Southern California.

Some of the areas have so much steam and hot water that it
can be used to generate electricity. Holes are drilled into the
ground and pipes lowered into the hot water, like a drinking
straw in a soda. The hot steam or water comes up through
these pipes from below ground.
You can see the pipes running in front of the geothermal
power plant in the picture. This power plant is Geysers Unit #
18 located in the Geysers Geothermal area of California.

40

A geothermal power plant is like in a regular power plant except that no fuel is burned to heat
water into steam. The steam or hot water in a geothermal power plant is heated by the earth. It
goes into a special turbine. The turbine blades spin and the shaft from the turbine is connected to
a generator to make electricity. The steam then gets cooled off in a cooling tower.
The white "smoke" rising from the plants in the photograph above is not smoke. It is steam given
off in the cooling process. The cooled water can then be pumped back below ground to be
reheated by the earth.
Here's a cut-away showing the inside of the power plant. The hot water flows into turbine and out
of the turbine. The turn turns the generator, and the electricity goes out to the transformer and
then to the huge transmission wires that link the power plants to our homes, school and
businesses. We learned about transmission lines in Chapter 7.

41

Chapter 12: Hydro Power

When it rains in hills and mountains, the
water becomes streams and rivers that run
down to the ocean. The moving or falling
water can be used to do work. Energy, you'll
remember is the ability to do work. So
moving water, which has kinetic energy, can
be used to make electricity.
For hundreds of years, moving water was
used to turn wooden wheels that were
attached to grinding wheels to grind (or mill)
flour or corn. These were called grist mills
or water mills.
In the year 1086, the Domesday Book was
written. The multi-volume books are very
large. Hand-written on the pages of the
books are lists of all properties, homes,
stores and other things in England. The Domesday Book listed 5,624 waterwheel-driven mills in
England south of the Trent River. That was about one mill for each 400 people.
Water can either go over the top of the wheel like in the photograph on the left, or the wheel can
be placed in the moving river. The flow of the river then turns the wheel at the bottom like in the
moving graphic on the right.
Today, moving water can also be used to make
electricity.
Hydro means water. Hydro-electric means making
electricity from water power.
Hydroelectric power uses the kinetic energy of
moving water to make electricity. Dams can be
built to stop the flow of a river. Water behind a dam
often forms a reservoir Like the picture of Shasta
Dam in Northern California pictured on the right.
Dams are also built across larger rivers but no
reservoir is made. The river is simply sent through
a hydroelectric power plant or powerhouse. You can see this in the picture of The Dalles Dam on
the Columbia River along the border of Oregon and Washington State.
Hydro is one of the largest producers of electricity in the United States. Water power supplies
about 10 percent of the entire electricity that we use. In states with high mountains and lots of
rivers, even more electricity if made by hydro power. In California, for example, about 15 percent
of all the electricity comes from hydroelectric.

42

The state of Washington leads the nation in

hydroelectricity. The Grand Coulee, Chief
Joseph and John Day dams are three of six
major dams on the Columbia River. About 87
percent of the electricity made in Washington
state is produced by hydroelectric facilities.
Some of that electricity is exported from the
state and used in other states.

How a Hydro Dam Works

The water behind the dam flows through the
intake and into a pipe called a penstock. The
water pushes against blades in a turbine, causing them to turn. The turbine is similar to the kind
used in a power plant that we learned about in Chapter 6. But instead of using steam to turn the
turbine, water is used.
The turbine spins a generator to produce electricity. The electricity can then travel over long
distance electric lines to your home, to your school, to factories and businesses.
Hydro power today can be found in the mountainous areas of states where there are lakes and
reservoirs and along rivers.

43

Chapter 13: Nuclear Energy - Fission and Fusion

Another major form of energy is nuclear energy, the energy that is trapped inside each atom. One
of the laws of the universe is that matter and energy can't be created nor destroyed. But they can
be changed in form.
Matter can be changed into energy. The world's most famous scientist, Albert Einstein, created
the mathematical formula that explains this. It is:

E= mc 2
This equation says:
E [energy] equals m [mass] times c2 [c stands for the velocity or the
speed of light. c2 means c times c, or the speed of light raised to the
second power -- or c-squared.]
You can listen to Einstein's voice explaining this at: www.aip.org/history/einstein/voice1.htm
Please note that some web browser software may not show an
exponent (raising something to a power, a mathematical expression)
on the Internet. Normally c-squared is shown with a smaller "2"
placed above and to the right of the c.

Scientists used Einstein's famous equation as the key to unlock

atomic energy and also create atomic bombs.
The ancient Greeks said the smallest part of nature is an atom. But
they did not know 2,000 years ago about nature's even smaller parts.
As we learned in chapter 2, atoms are made up of smaller particles -a nucleus of protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons which
swirl around the nucleus much like the earth revolves around the sun.

44

Nuclear Fission
An atom's nucleus can be split apart. When this is done, a tremendous amount
of energy is released. The energy is both heat and light energy. Einstein said
that a very small amount of matter contains a very LARGE amount of energy.
This energy, when let out slowly, can be harnessed to generate electricity.
When it is let out all at once, it can make a tremendous explosion in an atomic
bomb.
A nuclear power plant (like Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant shown on the right)
uses uranium as a "fuel." Uranium is an element that is dug out of the ground
many places around the world. It is processed into tiny pellets that are loaded
into very long rods that are put into the power plant's reactor.
The word fission means to split apart. Inside the reactor of an atomic power
plant, uranium atoms are split apart in a controlled chain reaction.
In a chain reaction, particles released by the splitting of the atom go off and strike other uranium
atoms splitting those. Those particles given off split still other atoms in a chain reaction. In nuclear
power plants, control rods are used to keep the splitting regulated so it doesn't go too fast.
If the reaction is not controlled, you could have an atomic bomb. But in atomic bombs, almost
pure pieces of the element Uranium-235 or Plutonium, of a precise mass and shape, must be
brought together and held together, with great force. These conditions are not present in a
nuclear reactor.
The reaction also creates radioactive material. This material could hurt people if released, so it is
kept in a solid form. The very strong concrete dome in the picture is designed to keep this
material inside if an accident happens.
This chain reaction gives off heat energy. This
heat energy is used to boil water in the core of
the reactor. So, instead of burning a fuel,
nuclear power plants use the chain reaction of
atoms splitting to change the energy of atoms
into heat energy.
This water from around the nuclear core is
sent to another section of the power plant.
Here, in the heat exchanger, it heats another
set of pipes filled with water to make steam.
The steam in this second set of pipes turns a
turbine to generate electricity. Below is a cross
section of the inside of a typical nuclear power plant.

45

Power plant drawing courtesy Nuclear Institute

Nuclear Fusion
Another form of nuclear energy is called
fusion. Fusion means joining smaller
nuclei (the plural of nucleus) to make a
larger nucleus. The sun uses nuclear
fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium
atoms. This gives off heat and light and
other radiation.
In the picture to the right, two types of
hydrogen atoms, deuterium and tritium,
combine to make a helium atom and an
extra particle called a neutron.
Also given off in this fusion reaction is energy! Thanks to the University of California, Berkeley for
the picture.
Scientists have been working on controlling nuclear fusion for a long time, trying to make a fusion
reactor to produce electricity. But they have been having trouble learning how to control the
reaction in a contained space.
What's better about nuclear fusion is that it creates less radioactive material than fission, and its
supply of fuel can last longer than the sun.

46

Chapter 14: Ocean Energy

The world's ocean may eventually provide us
with energy to power our homes and
businesses. Right now, there are very few
ocean energy power plants and most are
fairly small. But how can we get energy from
the ocean?
There are three basic ways to tap the ocean
for its energy. We can use the ocean's
waves, we can use the ocean's high and low
tides, or we can use temperature differences
in the water. Let's take a look at each.

Wave Energy
Kinetic energy (movement) exists in the
moving waves of the ocean. That energy can
be used to power a turbine. In this simple
example, to the right, the wave rises into a chamber. The rising water forces the air out of the
chamber. The moving air spins a turbine which can turn a generator.
When the wave goes down, air flows through the turbine and back into the chamber through
doors that are normally closed.
This is only one type of wave-energy system. Others actually use the up and down motion of the
wave to power a piston that moves up and down inside a cylinder. That piston can also turn a
generator.
Most wave-energy systems are very small. But, they can be used to power a warning buoy or a
small light house.

Tidal Energy
Another form of ocean energy is called tidal
energy. When tides comes into the shore, they can
be trapped in reservoirs behind dams. Then when
the tide drops, the water behind the dam can be
let out just like in a regular hydroelectric power
plant.
Tidal energy has been used since about the 11th
Century, when small dams were built along ocean
estuaries and small streams. the tidal water
behind these dams was used to turn water wheels
to mill grains.

47

In order for tidal energy to work well, you need large increases in tides. An increase of at least 16
feet between low tide to high tide is needed. There are only a few places where this tide change
occurs around the earth. Some power plants are already operating using this idea. One plant in
France makes enough energy from tides (240 megawatts) to power 240,000 homes.
This facility is called the La Rance Station in France. It began making electricity in 1966. It
produces about one fifth of a regular nuclear or coal-fired power plant. It is more than 10 times
the power of the next largest tidal station in the world, the 17 megawatt Canadian Annapolis
station.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

The idea is not new. Using the temperature of water to make energy actually dates back to 1881
when a French Engineer by the name of Jacques D'Arsonval first thought of OTEC. The final
ocean energy idea uses temperature differences in the ocean. If you ever went swimming in the
ocean and dove deep below the surface, you would have noticed that the water gets colder the
deeper you go. It's warmer on the surface because sunlight warms the water. But below the
surface, the ocean gets very cold. That's why scuba divers wear wet suits when they dive down
deep. Their wet suits trapped their body heat to keep them warm.
Power plants can be built that use this difference in temperature to make energy. A difference of
at least 38 degrees Fahrenheit is needed between the warmer surface water and the colder deep
ocean water.
Using this type of energy source is called Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion or OTEC. It is being
demonstrated in Hawaii. More info on OTEC can be found on the archive pages for the Natural
Energy Laboratory of Hawaii at: www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/otec-nelha/otec.html

48

Chapter 15: Solar Energy

We have always used the energy of the sun as far
back as humans have existed on this planet. As far
back as 5,000 years ago, people "worshipped" the sun.
Ra, the sun-god, who was considered the first king of
Egypt. In Mesopotamia, the sun-god Shamash was a
major deity and was equated with justice. In Greece
there were two sun deities, Apollo and Helios. The
influence of the sun also appears in other religions Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, Roman religion, Hinduism,
Buddhism, the Druids of England, the Aztecs of
Mexico, the Incas of Peru, and many Native American
tribes.
We know today, that the sun is simply our nearest star.
Without it, life would not exist on our planet. We use
the sun's energy every day in many different ways.
When we hang laundry outside to dry in the sun, we are using the sun's heat to do work -- drying
our clothes.
Plants use the sun's light to make food. Animals eat plants for food. And as we learned in Chapter
5, decaying plants hundreds of millions of years ago produced the coal, oil and natural gas that
we use today. So, fossil fuels is actually sunlight stored millions and millions of years ago.
Indirectly, the sun or other stars are responsible for ALL our energy. Even nuclear energy comes
from a star because the uranium atoms used in nuclear energy were created in the fury of a nova
- a star exploding.
Let's look at ways in which we can use the sun's energy.

Solar Hot Water

In the 1890s solar water heaters were being
used all over the United States. They proved
to be a big improvement over wood and
coal-burning stoves. Artificial gas made from
coal was available too to heat water, but it
cost 10 times the price we pay for natural
gas today. And electricity was even more
expensive if you even had any in your town!
Many homes used solar water heaters. In
1897, 30 percent of the homes in Pasadena,
just east of Los Angeles, were equipped with
solar water heaters. As mechanical
improvements were made, solar systems were used in Arizona, Florida and many other sunny
parts of the United States. The picture shown here is a solar water heater installed on the front
roof of a house in Pomona Valley, California, in 1911 (the panels are circled above the four
windows).

49

By 1920, ten of thousands of solar water heaters had been

sold. By then, however, large deposits of oil and natural gas
were discovered in the western United States. As these low
cost fuels became available, solar water systems began to be
replaced with heaters burning fossil fuels.
Today, solar water heaters are making a comeback. There are
more than half a million of them in California alone! They heat
water for use inside homes and businesses. They also heat
swimming pools like in the picture.
Panels on the roof of a building, like this one on the right,
contain water pipes. When the sun hits the panels and the
pipes, the sunlight warms them.
That warmed water can then be used in a swimming pool.

Solar Thermal Electricity

Solar energy can also be used to make electricity.
Some solar power plants, like the one in the picture to the right in California's Mojave Desert, use
a highly curved mirror called a parabolic trough to focus the sunlight on a pipe running down a
central point above the curve of the mirror. The mirror focuses the sunlight to strike the pipe, and
it gets so hot that it can boil water into steam. That steam can then be used to turn a turbine to
make electricity.
In California's Mojave desert, there are huge
rows of solar mirrors arranged in what's called
"solar thermal power plants" that use this idea
to make electricity for more than 350,000
homes. The problem with solar energy is that
it works only when the sun is shining. So, on
cloudy days and at night, the power plants
can't create energy. Some solar plants, are a
"hybrid" technology. During the daytime they
use the sun. At night and on cloudy days they
burn natural gas to boil the water so they can
continue to make electricity.
Another form of solar power plants to make electricity is called a
Central Tower Power Plant, like the one to the right - the Solar
Two Project.
Sunlight is reflected off 1,800 mirrors circling the tall tower. The
mirrors are called heliostats and move and turn to face the sun
all day long.

50

The light is reflected back to the top of the tower in the center of the circle where a fluid is turned
very hot by the sun's rays. That fluid can be used to boil water to make steam to turn a turbine
and a generator.
This experimental power plant is called Solar II. It was re-built in California's desert using newer
technologies than when it was first built in the early 1980s. Solar II will use the sunlight to change
heat into mechanical energy in the turbine.
The power plant will make enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes. Scientists say larger
central tower power plants can make electricity for 100,000 to 200,000 homes.

Solar Cells or Photovoltaic Energy

We can also change the sunlight
directly to electricity using solar
cells.
Solar cells are also called
photovoltaic cells - or PV cells for
short - and can be found on many
small appliances, like calculators,
and even on spacecraft. They were
first developed in the 1950s for use
on U.S. space satellites. They are
made of silicon, a special type of
melted sand.
When sunlight strikes the solar
cell, electrons (red circles) are
knocked loose. They move toward
the treated front surface (dark blue
color). An electron imbalance is
created between the front and back.
When the two surfaces are joined
by a connector, like a wire, a
current of electricity occurs
between the negative and positive
sides.
These individual solar cells are
arranged together in a PV module
and the modules are grouped
together in an array. Some of the
arrays are set on special tracking
devices to follow sunlight all day
51

long.
The electrical energy from solar
cells can then be used directly. It
can be used in a home for lights
and appliances. It can be used in a
business. Solar energy can be
stored in batteries to light a
roadside billboard at night. Or the
energy can be stored in a battery
for an emergency roadside cellular
telephone when no telephone wires
are around.
Some experimental cars also use
PV cells. They convert sunlight
directly into energy to power
electric motors on the car.
But when most of us think of solar
energy, we think of satellites in
outer space. Here's a picture of
solar panels extending out from a
satellite.

52

Chapter 16: Wind Energy

Wind can be used to do work. The
kinetic energy of the wind can be
changed into other forms of
energy, either mechanical energy
or electrical energy.
When a boat lifts a sail, it is using
wind energy to push it through the
water. This is one form of work.
Farmers have been using wind
energy for many years to pump
water from wells using windmills
like the one on the right.
In Holland, windmills have been
used for centuries to pump water
from low-lying areas.
Wind is also used to turn large
grinding stones to grind wheat or
corn, just like a water wheel is
turned by water power.
Today, the wind is also used to
make electricity.
Blowing wind spins the blades on
a wind turbine -- just like a large
toy pinwheel. This device is called
a wind turbine and not a windmill.
A windmill grinds or mills grain, or
is used to pump water.
The blades of the turbine are
attached to a hub that is mounted
on a turning shaft. The shaft goes
through a gear transmission box
where the turning speed is
increased. The transmission is
attached to a high speed shaft
which turns a generator that
53

makes electricity.
If the wind gets too high, the
turbine has a brake that will keep
the blades from turning too fast
and being damaged.
You can use a single smaller wind
turbine to power a home or a
school. The small turbine on the
right makes enough energy for a
house. In the picture on the left,
the children at this Iowa school
are playing beneath a wind
turbine that makes enough
electricity to power their entire
school.
We have many windy areas in
California. And wind is blowing in
many places all over the earth.
The only problem with wind is that
it is not windy all the time. In
California, it is usually windier
during the summer months when
wind rushes inland from cooler
areas, like the ocean to replace
hot rising air in California's warm
central valleys and deserts.
In order for a wind turbine to work
efficiently, wind speeds usually
must be above 12 to 14 miles per
hour. Wind has to be this speed to
turn the turbines fast enough to
generate electricity. The turbines
usually produce about 50 to 300
kilowatts of electricity each. A
kilowatt is 1,000 watts (kilo means
1,000). You can light ten 100 watt
light bulbs with 1,000 watts. So, a
300 kilowatt (300,000 watts) wind
turbine could light up 3,000 light
bulbs that use 100 watts!

54

As of 1999, there were 11,368

wind turbines in California. These
turbines are grouped together in
what are called wind "farms," like
those in Palm Springs in the
picture on the right. These wind
farms are located mostly in the
three windiest areas of the state:

Altamont Pass, east of San

Francisco
San Gorgonio Pass, near
Palm Springs
Tehachapi, south of
Bakersfield

Together these three places in

California make enough electricity
to supply an entire city the size of
San Francisco! About 11 percent
of the entire world's windgenerated electricity is found in
California. Other countries that
use a lot of wind energy are
Denmark and Germany.
Once electricity is made by the
turbine, the electricity from the
entire wind farm is collected
together and sent through a
transformer. There the voltage is
increase to send it long distances
over high power lines.

55

Chapter 18: Energy for Transportation

In California, about one-half of ALL the energy
we use goes into transportation - cars, planes,
trucks, motorcycles, trains, buses. And of all
the oil we use in the state about three-quarters
of all it goes into making gasoline and diesel
fuel for vehicles.
As we learned in Chapter 8, oil goes through a
refinery where it is made into many different
products. Some of them are used for
transportation: aviation fuel, gasoline and
diesel fuel. From the refinery and larger
storage tank farms, transportation fuels are
usually trucked to service stations in tanker trucks. These trucks can hold 10,000 gallons in each
tank. The tanker trucks deliver the gasoline to the services stations.
At service stations, the two grades of gasoline, regular and premium, are kept in separate
underground storage tanks. When you pump the gasoline into your car, you are pumping it from
those tanks below ground. Mid-grade gasoline is a combination of the two types. Other vehicles,
such as trucks and some cars use diesel fuel, which is also made from oil. It is brought to service
stations the same way.
California has more than 26 million vehicles on its roads. All the vehicles in the state used 14.4
billion gallons of gasoline in 2001. That's more gasoline that all other countries except for the
United States and the former Soviet Union. This makes California the third-largest user of
gasoline in the world!
Fourteen billion gallons of gasoline is
enough to fill a line of 10,000 gallon tanker
trucks stretched bumper to bumper from
San Francisco to San Diego, back to San
Francisco, and then part of the way to
Sacramento!
Burning gasoline, however, creates air
pollution. That's why oil companies are
creating newer types of gasoline that are
cleaner than the kind we use today. Beginning
in 1996, all the gasoline sold in California will
be this newer, cleaner type called
"reformulated gasoline." The main ingredient in that gas, however, MTBE was found to hurt water
supplies if it leaked. So, that additive is being removed by 2005.
Another concern about using oil for transportation is that a lot of oil used comes form the Middle
East. This makes the U.S. very vulnerable if there is political unrest. During the 1970s, Americans
saw long lines at the gas pumps because oil from the Middle East was turned off by the Oil
Producing Exposting Countries - OPEC. And we're in in worse shape in 2002 because we're
importing more and more oil form the Middle East than ever before.

56

Because of concerns about air pollution and

petroleum-dependence, new clean-burning
fuels made from fuels other than oil are being
introduced. These fuels include methanol,
ethanol, natural gas, propane and even
electricity. The car on the right uses methanol,
the same fuel used in Indianapolis Speedway
race cars.
All these fuels are called alternative fuels
because they are an alternative to gasoline
and diesel. Cars and trucks that use them are
called Alternative Fuel Vehicles or AFVs.
Right now, there are only a small number of cars and trucks that are running on fuels other than
gasoline and diesel. Energy officials hope, however, that one-quarter of all the vehicles will run on
alternative fuels by the year 2025.

57

Chapter 19: Saving Energy and Energy

Conservation
Some of the energy we can use is called
renewable energy. These include solar, wind,
geothermal and hydro. These types of energy
are constantly being renewed or restored.
But many of the other forms of energy we use
in our homes and cars are not being
replenished. Fossil fuels took millions of years
to create. They cannot be made over night.
And there are finite or limited amounts of
these non-renewable energy sources. That
means they cannot be renewed or
replenished. Once they are gone they cannot be used again. So, we must all do our part in saving
as much energy as we can.
In your home, you can save energy by turning off appliances,
TVs and radios that are not being used, watched or listened to.
You can turn off lights when no one is in the room.
By putting insulation in walls and attics, we can reduce the
amount of energy it takes to heat or cool our homes.
Insulating a home is like putting on a sweater or jacket when
we're cold...instead of turning up the heat.
The outer layers trap the heat inside, keeping it nice and warm.
New space-age materials are being developed that insulate
even better. This person's fingers are protected by Aerogel
Insulation Material created by the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory. The person cannot even feel the flame!

Recycling
To make all of our newspapers, aluminum cans,
plastic bottles and other goods takes lots of
energy.
Recycling these items -- grinding them up and
reusing the material again -- uses less energy than
it takes to make them from brand new, raw
material.

58

So, we must all recycle as much as we can.

We can also save energy in our cars and trucks.
Make sure the tires are properly inflated.
A car that is tuned up, has clean air and oil filters, and is running right will use less gasoline.
Don't over-load a car. For every extra 100 pounds, you cut your mileage by one mile per gallon.
When your parents buy a new car, tell them to compare the fuel efficiency of different models and
buy a car that gets higher miles per gallon.
You can also save energy in your school.
Each week you can choose an energy monitor
who will make sure energy is being used
properly.
The energy monitor will turn off the lights
during recess and after class.
You can make "Turn It Off" signs for hanging
above the light switches to remind yourself.
Also check out our on-line pages on Saving
Energy.
You can make sure your classmates recycle all aluminum cans and plastic bottles, and make sure
the library is recycling the newspapers and the school is recycling its paper.

59

CHAPTER 20: Hydrogen and Future Energy

Sources
We learned in Chapter 8 that fossil fuels were
formed before and during the time of the
dinosaurs - when plants and animals died.
Their decomposed remains gradually changed
over the years to form coal, oil and natural
gas. Fossil fuels took millions of years to
make. We are using up the fuels formed more
than 65 million years ago. They can't be
renewed; they can't be made again. We can
save fossil fuels by conserving and finding
ways to harness energy from seemingly
"endless sources," like the sun and the wind.
We can't use fossil fuels forever as they are a non-renewable and finite resource. Some people
suggest that we should start using hydrogen.
Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless gas that accounts for 75 percent of the entire universe's mass.
Hydrogen is found on Earth only in combination with other elements such as oxygen, carbon and
nitrogen. To use hydrogen, it must be separated from these other elements.
Today, hydrogen is used primarily in ammonia manufacturing, petroleum refining and synthesis of
methanol. It's also used in NASA's space program as fuel for the space shuttles, and in fuel cells
that provide heat, electricity and drinking water for astronauts. Fuel cells are devices that directly
convert hydrogen into electricity. In the future, hydrogen could be used to fuel vehicles (such as
the DaimlerChrysler NeCar 4 shown in the picture to the right) and aircraft, and provide power for
our homes and offices.
Hydrogen can be made from molecules called hydrocarbons by applying heat, a process known
as "reforming" hydrogen. This process makes hydrogen from natural gas. An electrical current
can also be used to separate water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen in a process
called electrolysis. Some algae and bacteria, using sunlight as their energy source, give off
hydrogen under certain conditions.
Hydrogen as a fuel is high in energy, yet a machine that burns pure hydrogen produces almost
zero pollution. NASA has used liquid hydrogen since the 1970s to propel rockets and now the
space shuttle into orbit. Hydrogen fuel cells power the shuttle's electrical systems, producing a
clean by-product - pure water, which the crew drinks.
You can think of a fuel cell as a battery that is constantly replenished by adding fuel to it - it never
loses its charge.
To view a FLASH video of how a fuel cell works, go to the Ballard Power Systems website.

Fuel Cell Uses

Fuel cells are a promising technology for use as a source of heat and electricity in buildings, and
as an electrical power source for vehicles.

60

Auto companies are working on building cars and trucks that use fuel cells. In a fuel cell vehicle,
an electrochemical device converts hydrogen (stored on board) and oxygen from the air into
electricity, to drive an electric motor and power the vehicle.
Although these applications would ideally run off pure hydrogen, in the near term they are likely to
be fueled with natural gas, methanol or even gasoline. Reforming these fuels to create hydrogen
will allow the use of much of our current energy infrastructure - gas stations, natural gas
pipelines, etc. - while fuel cells are phased in.
In the future, hydrogen could also join electricity as an important energy carrier. An energy carrier
stores, moves and delivers energy in a usable form to consumers.
Renewable energy sources, like the sun, can't produce energy all the time. The sun doesn't
always shine. But hydrogen can store this energy until it is needed and can be transported to
where it is needed.
Some experts think that hydrogen will form the basic energy infrastructure that will power future
societies, replacing today's natural gas, oil, coal, and electricity infrastructures. They see a new
"hydrogen economy" to replace our current "fossil fuel-based economy," although that vision
probably won't happen until far in the future.

Solar Power Satellites

One suggestion for energy in the future is to put
huge solar power satellites into orbit around the
earth. They would collect solar energy from the
sun, convert it to electricity and beam it to Earth
as microwaves or some other form of
transmission. The power would have no
greenhouse gas emissions, but microwave
beams might affect health adversely. And
frequent rocket launches may harm the upper
atmosphere. This idea may not be practical for
another century; if at all.
The picture on the right is an early and simple
drawing of how a space solar power satellite
would beam energy to electrical power grid on Earth.

Other Ideas
Some people have claimed they've invented a machine that will "save the planet." Others are
convinced that there's a vast conspiracy by fossil fuel and / or nuclear power companies to stop
such devices from getting to the public.
Some of these contraptions use theories called "Free Energy," "Over Unity" or "Zero-Point
Energy." As a matter of fact, you can find all sorts of information about such devices on the
Internet. Just plug in any of those words.

61

But none of these devices have ever been proven, either theoretically or physically. The "free
energy" area is filled with con artists selling unintelligible information, often clouded with technical
sounding jargon, and seeking people with money to develop their inventions or ideas.
As the old saying goes, "a fool and his money are soon parted."
Most of these devices are perpetual motion machines, which violate known laws of science. Even
the U.S. Patent Office will not issue a patent for such devices. With energy and the universe (at
least as we know it today), there's no such thing as a free lunch; or free energy. You can't get
energy from nothing because of the fundamental laws of physics that energy cannot be created
or destroyed.
What about matter and anti-matter? What about energy that they use on Star Trek and in other
science fiction stories? The ideas are interesting, but they are still fiction. Though science fiction
has a basis in some fact. Jules Verne wrote about traveling under the water more than a hundred
years ago, and today we have submarines. He also wrote about going to the moon, and in 1969
humans first set foot on our closest neighbor in space.
So, while some ideas being used by writers are fiction... there could be some basis in fact. Who
knows, someone might create a mater-antimatter energy system that could revolutionize the way
we think about energy and our universe.

62

Conclusion
To make sure we have plenty of energy
in the future, it's up to all of us to use
energy wisely.

Imagination is more
important than
knowledge, for knowledge
is limited, whereas
imagination embraces the
entire world - stimulating
progress, giving birth to
evolution.
- Albert Einstein

We must all conserve energy and use it

efficiently. It's also up to those who will
create the new energy technologies of
the future.
All energy sources have an impact on
the environment. Concerns about the
greenhouse effect and global warming,
air pollution, and energy security have
led to increasing interest and more development in renewable energy
sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, wave power and hydrogen.
But we'll need to continue to use fossil fuels and nuclear energy until
new, cleaner technologies can replace them. One of you who is reading
this might be another Albert Einstein or Marie Curie and find a new
source of energy. Until then, it's up to all of us.
The future is ours, but we need energy to get there.

63

Tools required for electronics

Soldering iron
For electronics work the best type
is one powered by mains electricity
(230V in the UK), it should have a
heatproof cable for safety. The
iron's power rating should be 15 to
25W and it should be fitted with a
small bit of 2 to 3mm diameter.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

Other types of soldering iron

Low voltage soldering irons are available, but their extra safety is undermined if you have a
mains lead to their power supply! Temperature controlled irons are excellent for frequent use,
but not worth the extra expense if you are a beginner. Gas-powered irons are designed for use
where no mains supply is available and are not suitable for everyday use. Pistol shaped solder
guns are far too powerful and cumbersome for normal electronics use.

Soldering iron stand

You must have a safe place to put the iron when you
are not holding it. The stand should include a
sponge which can be dampened for cleaning the tip
of the iron.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

Desoldering pump (solder

sucker)
A tool for removing solder when desoldering a joint to correct a mistake or
replace a component.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

64

Solder remover wick (copper braid)

This is an alternative to the desoldering pump shown
above.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

Reel of solder
The best size for electronics is 22swg (swg = standard
wire gauge).
Photograph Rapid Electronics

Side cutters
For trimming component leads close to the circuit board.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

Wire strippers
Most designs include a cutter as well, but they are
not suitable for trimming component leads.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

Small pliers
Usually called 'snipe nose' pliers, these are for
bending component leads etc. If you put a strong
rubber band across the handles the pliers make a
convenient holder for parts such as switches while
you solder the contacts.
65

Photograph Rapid Electronics

Small flat-blade screwdriver

For scraping away excess flux and dirt between tracks, as well as driving screws!
Photograph Rapid Electronics

Heat sink
You can buy a special tool, but a standard crocodile clip
works just as well and is cheaper.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

The following tool is only required if you are using stripboard:

Track cutter
A 3mm drill bit can be used instead, in fact the tool is usually just
a 3mm drill bit with a proper handle fitted.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

The following tools are only required if you make your own
PCBs:

PCB rubber
This is an abrasive rubber for cleaning PCBs. It can also be
used to clean stripboard where the copper tracks have become dull and
tarnished.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

66

Small electric drill

Ideally this should be mounted in a drill stand. You will need a
range of small drill bits, but for most holes a 1mm bit is suitable.
Larger holes can be drilled with a hand drill but 1mm bits are too
fragile to use reliably in a hand drill.
Photograph Rapid Electronics

67

Transistors
This page covers practical matters such as precautions when soldering and identifying leads. The
operation and use of transistors is covered by the Transistor Circuits page.

Function
Transistors amplify current, for example they can be used to
amplify the small output current from a logic chip so that it can
operate a lamp, relay or other high current device. In many circuits a resistor is
used to convert the changing current to a changing voltage, so the transistor is
being used to amplify voltage.
A transistor may be used as a switch (either fully on with maximum current, or
fully off with no current) and as an amplifier (always partly on).
The amount of current amplification is called the current gain, symbol hFE.
For further information please see the Transistor Circuits page.

Types of transistor
There are two types of standard transistors, NPN and
PNP, with different circuit symbols. The letters refer
to the layers of semiconductor material used to make
the transistor. Most transistors used today are NPN
because this is the easiest type to make from silicon.
Transistor circuit symbols
If you are new to electronics it is best to start by
learning how to use NPN transistors.
The leads are labelled base (B), collector (C) and emitter (E).
These terms refer to the internal operation of a transistor but they are not much help in
understanding how a transistor is used, so just treat them as labels!

A Darlington pair is two transistors connected together to give a very high current
gain.
In addition to standard (bipolar junction) transistors, there are field-effect
transistors which are usually referred to as FETs. They have different circuit
symbols and properties and they are not (yet) covered by this page.

68

Connecting
Transistors have three leads which
must be connected the correct way
round. Please take care with this
because a wrongly connected
transistor may be damaged
instantly when you switch on.
If you are lucky the orientation of
the transistor will be clear from the
PCB or stripboard layout diagram,
otherwise you will need to refer to a
supplier's catalogue to identify the
leads.

Transistor leads for some common case styles.

The drawings on the right show the leads for some of the most common case
styles.
Please note that transistor lead diagrams show the view from below with the
leads towards you. This is the opposite of IC (chip) pin diagrams which show the
view from above.
Please see below for a table showing the case styles of some common
transistors.

Crocodile clip
Photograph Rapid Electronics.

Soldering
Transistors can be damaged by heat when soldering so if you are not an expert it
is wise to use a heat sink clipped to the lead between the joint and the transistor
body. A standard crocodile clip can be used as a heat sink.
Do not confuse this temporary heat sink with the permanent heat sink (described below) which
may be required for a power transistor to prevent it overheating during operation.

69

Heat sinks
Heat sink
Waste heat is produced in transistors due to the
current flowing through them. Heat sinks are needed
Photograph Rapid Electronics
for power transistors because they pass large
currents. If you find that a transistor is becoming too hot to touch it certainly
needs a heat sink! The heat sink helps to dissipate (remove) the heat by
transferring it to the surrounding air.
For further information please see the Heat sinks page.

Testing an NPN transistor

Testing a transistor
Transistors can be damaged by heat when soldering or by misuse in a circuit. If
you suspect that a transistor may be damaged there are two easy ways to test it:

1. Testing with a multimeter

Use a multimeter or a simple tester (battery, resistor and LED) to check each pair
of leads for conduction. Set a digital multimeter to diode test and an analogue
multimeter to a low resistance range.
Test each pair of leads both ways (six tests in total):

The base-emitter (BE) junction should behave like a diode and conduct
one way only.
The base-collector (BC) junction should behave like a diode and conduct
one way only.
The collector-emitter (CE) should not conduct either way.

70

The diagram shows how the junctions behave in

an NPN transistor. The diodes are reversed in a
PNP transistor but the same test procedure can
be used.

2. Testing in a simple switching circuit

Connect the transistor into the circuit shown on
the right which uses the transistor as a switch.
The supply voltage is not critical, anything
A simple switching circuit
between 5 and 12V is suitable. This circuit can
to test an NPN transistor
be quickly built on breadboard for example. Take
care to include the 10k resistor in the base connection or you will destroy the
transistor as you test it!
If the transistor is OK the LED should light when the switch is pressed and not
light when the switch is released.
To test a PNP transistor use the same circuit but reverse the LED and the supply
voltage.
Some multimeters have a 'transistor test' function which provides a known base
current and measures the collector current so as to display the transistor's DC
current gain hFE.

Transistor codes
There are three main series of transistor codes used in the UK:
Codes beginning with B (or A), for example BC108, BC478
The first letter B is for silicon, A is for germanium (rarely used now). The second letter
indicates the type; for example C means low power audio frequency; D means high
power audio frequency; F means low power high frequency. The rest of the code
identifies the particular transistor. There is no obvious logic to the numbering system.
Sometimes a letter is added to the end (eg BC108C) to identify a special version of the
main type, for example a higher current gain or a different case style. If a project specifies
a higher gain version (BC108C) it must be used, but if the general code is given (BC108)
any transistor with that code is suitable.

Codes beginning with TIP, for example TIP31A

TIP refers to the manufacturer: Texas Instruments Power transistor. The letter at the end
identifies versions with different voltage ratings.

Codes beginning with 2N, for example 2N3053

The initial '2N' identifies the part as a transistor and the rest of the code identifies the
particular transistor. There is no obvious logic to the numbering system.

71

Choosing a transistor
Most projects will specify a particular transistor, but if necessary you can usually
substitute an equivalent transistor from the wide range available. The most
important properties to look for are the maximum collector current I C and the
current gain hFE. To make selection easier most suppliers group their transistors
in categories determined either by their typical use or maximum power rating.
To make a final choice you will need to consult the tables of technical data which
are normally provided in catalogues. They contain a great deal of useful
information but they can be difficult to understand if you are not familiar with the
abbreviations used. The table below shows the most important technical data for
some popular transistors, tables in catalogues and reference books will usually
show additional information but this is unlikely to be useful unless you are
experienced. The quantities shown in the table are explained below.

NPN transistors
Code

Case
Structure
style

IC
VCE hFE
max. max. min.

Ptot
max.

Category
Possible
(typical
substitutes
use)
Audio, low
power

BC107

NPN

TO18 100mA 45V 110 300mW

BC108

NPN

BC108C
TO18 100mA 20V 110 300mW purpose, low BC183 BC548
power

BC108C

NPN

TO18 100mA 20V 420 600mW purpose, low

BC182 BC547

General

General
power

TO18 200mA 20V 200 300mW

Audio (low
noise), low
power

BC109

NPN

BC182

NPN

TO92C 100mA 50V 100 350mW purpose, low BC107 BC182L

BC182L

NPN

TO92A 100mA 50V 100 350mW purpose, low BC107 BC182

BC547B

NPN

TO92C 100mA 45V 200 500mW

BC548B

NPN

TO92C 100mA 30V 220 500mW purpose, low

BC549B

NPN

TO92C 100mA 30V 240 625mW noise), low

2N3053

NPN

BC184 BC549

General
power

General
power

Audio, low
power

BC107B

General

BC108B

power

Audio (low

BC109

power

TO39 700mA 40V

50 500mW

General
purpose, low

BFY51

72

power

BFY51

NPN

TO39

1A

30V

40 800mW

General
purpose,
medium
power

BC639

General
purpose,
medium
power

BFY51

BC639

NPN

TO92A

1A

80V

40 800mW

TIP29A

NPN

TO220

1A

60V

40

30W

General
purpose,
high power

TIP31A

NPN

TO220

3A

60V

10

40W

General
purpose, TIP31C TIP41A
high power

TIP31C

NPN

TO220

3A

100V 10

40W

General
purpose, TIP31A TIP41A
high power

TIP41A

NPN

TO220

6A

60V

15

65W

General
purpose,
high power

2N3055

NPN

TO3

15A

60V

20

117W

General
purpose,
high power

Please note: the data in this table was compiled from several sources which are not entirely
consistent! Most of the discrepancies are minor, but please consult information from your supplier
if you require precise data.

PNP transistors
Case
style

IC
VCE hFE
max. max. min.

Ptot
max.

Category
Possible
(typical
substitutes
use)

Code

Structure

BC177

PNP

TO18 100mA 45V 125 300mW

BC178

PNP

TO18 200mA 25V 120 600mW purpose, low

BC179

PNP

TO18 200mA 20V 180 600mW noise), low

BC477

PNP

TO18 150mA 80V 125 360mW

BC478

PNP

TO18 150mA 40V 125 360mW purpose, low

TIP32A

PNP

TO220

Audio, low
power

BC477

General

BC478

power

Audio (low
power

Audio, low
power

BC177

General

BC178

power

3A

60V

25

40W

General
purpose,
high power

TIP32C

73

TIP32C

PNP

TO220

3A

100V 10

40W

General
purpose,
high power

TIP32A

Please note: the data in this table was compiled from several sources which are not entirely
consistent! Most of the discrepancies are minor, but please consult information from your supplier
if you require precise data.

Structure

This shows the type of transistor, NPN or PNP. The

polarities of the two types are different, so if you are
looking for a substitute it must be the same type.

Case style

There is a diagram showing the leads for some of the

most common case styles in the Connecting section
above. This information is also available in suppliers'
catalogues.

IC max.

Maximum collector current.

VCE max.

Maximum voltage across the collector-emitter junction.

You can ignore this rating in low voltage circuits.

hFE

This is the current gain (strictly the DC current gain). The

guaranteed minimum value is given because the actual
value varies from transistor to transistor - even for those
of the same type! Note that current gain is just a number
so it has no units.
The gain is often quoted at a particular collector current I C which is
usually in the middle of the transistor's range, for example
'100@20mA' means the gain is at least 100 at 20mA. Sometimes
minimum and maximum values are given. Since the gain is roughly
constant for various currents but it varies from transistor to transistor
this detail is only really of interest to experts.
Why hFE? It is one of a whole series of parameters for transistors,
each with their own symbol. There are too many to explain here.

Ptot max.

Maximum total power which can be developed in the

transistor, note that a heat sink will be required to achieve
the maximum rating. This rating is important for
transistors operating as amplifiers, the power is roughly I C
VCE. For transistors operating as switches the maximum
collector current (IC max.) is more important.

Category

This shows the typical use for the transistor, it is a good

starting point when looking for a substitute. Catalogues
may have separate tables for different categories.

Possible substitutes These are transistors with similar electrical properties

which will be suitable substitutes in most circuits.
However, they may have a different case style so you will
need to take care when placing them on the circuit board.

74

Darlington pair
This is two transistors connected together so that the
amplified current from the first is amplified further by the
second transistor. This gives the Darlington pair a very
high current gain such as 10000. Darlington pairs are sold
as complete packages containing the two transistors.
They have three leads (B, C and E) which are equivalent
to the leads of a standard individual transistor.
You can make up your own Darlington pair from two transistors.
For example:

For TR1 use BC548B with hFE1 = 220.

For TR2 use BC639 with hFE2 = 40.

The overall gain of this pair is hFE1 hFE2 = 220 40 =

8800.
The pair's maximum collector current IC(max) is the
same as TR2.

75

Transistor Circuits
This page explains the operation of transistors in circuits. Practical matters such as testing,
precautions when soldering and identifying leads are covered by the Transistors page.

Types of transistor
There are two types of standard transistors, NPN and
PNP, with different circuit symbols. The letters refer
to the layers of semiconductor material used to make
the transistor. Most transistors used today are NPN
because this is the easiest type to make from silicon.
This page is mostly about NPN transistors and if you Transistor circuit symbols
are new to electronics it is best to start by learning
how to use these first.
The leads are labelled base (B), collector (C) and emitter (E).
These terms refer to the internal operation of a transistor but they are not much help in
understanding how a transistor is used, so just treat them as labels!

A Darlington pair is two transistors connected together to give a very high current
gain.
In addition to standard (bipolar junction) transistors, there are field-effect
transistors which are usually referred to as FETs. They have different circuit
symbols and properties and they are not (yet) covered by this
page.

Transistor currents

76

The diagram shows the two current paths through a transistor. You can build this
circuit with two standard 5mm red LEDs and any general purpose low power
NPN transistor (BC108, BC182 or BC548 for example).
The small base current controls the larger collector current.
When the switch is closed a small current flows into the base (B) of the
transistor. It is just enough to make LED B glow dimly. The transistor amplifies
this small current to allow a larger current to flow through from its collector (C) to
its emitter (E). This collector current is large enough to make LED C light brightly.
When the switch is open no base current flows, so the transistor switches off
the collector current. Both LEDs are off.
A transistor amplifies current and can be used as a switch.
This arrangement where the emitter (E) is in the controlling circuit (base current) and in the
controlled circuit (collector current) is called common emitter mode. It is the most widely used
arrangement for transistors so it is the one to learn first.

Functional model of an NPN transistor

The operation of a transistor is difficult to explain and
understand in terms of its internal structure. It is more
helpful to use this functional model:
The base-emitter junction behaves like a diode.
A base current IB flows only when the voltage
VBE across the base-emitter junction is 0.7V or
more.
The small base current IB controls the large
collector current Ic.
Ic = hFE IB (unless the transistor is full on and
saturated)

hFE is the current gain (strictly the DC current

gain), a typical value for hFE is 100 (it has no
units because it is a ratio)
The collector-emitter resistance RCE is
controlled by the base current IB:
o IB = 0 RCE = infinity transistor off
o IB small RCE reduced transistor partly
on
o IB increased RCE = 0 transistor full on
('saturated')

77

Additional notes:
A resistor is often needed in series with the base connection to limit the
base current IB and prevent the transistor being damaged.
Transistors have a maximum collector current Ic rating.
The current gain hFE can vary widely, even for transistors of the same
type!
A transistor that is full on (with RCE = 0) is said to be 'saturated'.
When a transistor is saturated the collector-emitter voltage V CE is reduced
to almost 0V.
When a transistor is saturated the collector
current Ic is determined by the supply
voltage and the external resistance in the
collector circuit, not by the transistor's
current gain. As a result the ratio Ic/I B for a
saturated transistor is less than the current
gain hFE.
The emitter current IE = Ic + IB, but Ic is
much larger than IB, so roughly IE = Ic.
There is a table showing technical data for some
popular transistors on the transistors page.

Touch switch circuit

Darlington pair
This is two transistors connected together so that the current amplified by the first
is amplified further by the second transistor. The overall current gain is equal to
the two individual gains multiplied together:
Darlington pair current gain, hFE = hFE1 hFE2
(hFE1 and hFE2 are the gains of the individual transistors)
This gives the Darlington pair a very high current gain, such as 10000, so that
only a tiny base current is required to make the pair switch on.

78

A Darlington pair behaves like a single transistor with a very high current
gain. It has three leads (B, C and E) which are equivalent to the leads of a
standard individual transistor. To turn on there must be 0.7V across both the
base-emitter junctions which are connected in series inside the Darlington pair,
therefore it requires 1.4V to turn on.
Darlington pairs are available as complete packages but you can make up your
own from two transistors; TR1 can be a low power type, but normally TR2 will
need to be high power. The maximum collector current Ic(max) for the pair is the
same as Ic(max) for TR2.
A Darlington pair is sufficiently sensitive to respond to the small current passed
by your skin and it can be used to make a touch-switch as shown in the
diagram. For this circuit which just lights an LED the two transistors can be any
general purpose low power transistors. The 100k resistor protects the
transistors if the contacts are linked with a piece of wire.

Using a transistor as a switch

When a transistor is used as a switch it must be
either OFF or fully ON. In the fully ON state the
voltage VCE across the transistor is almost zero
and the transistor is said to be saturated because
it cannot pass any more collector current Ic. The
output device switched by the transistor is usually
called the 'load'.
The power developed in a switching transistor is
very small:

In the OFF state: power = Ic VCE, but Ic = 0, so the power is zero.

In the full ON state: power = Ic VCE, but VCE = 0 (almost), so the power is
very small.

This means that the transistor should not become hot in use and you do not need
to consider its maximum power rating. The important ratings in switching circuits
are the maximum collector current Ic(max) and the minimum current gain
hFE(min). The transistor's voltage ratings may be ignored unless you are using a
supply voltage of more than about 15V. There is a table showing technical data
for some popular transistors on the transistors page.

79

For information about the operation of a transistor please see the functional
model above.

Protection diode
If the load is a motor, relay or solenoid (or
any other device with a coil) a diode must be
connected across the load to protect the
transistor (and chip) from damage when the
load is switched off. The diagram shows how
this is connected 'backwards' so that it will
normally NOT conduct. Conduction only
occurs when the load is switched off, at this
moment current tries to continue flowing
through the coil and it is harmlessly diverted
through the diode. Without the diode no current
could flow and the coil would produce a damaging
high voltage 'spike' in its attempt to keep the
current flowing.

When to use a relay

Transistors cannot switch AC or high voltages
(such as mains electricity) and they are not usually
a good choice for switching large currents (> 5A).
In these cases a relay will be needed, but note that
a low power transistor may still be needed to
switch the current for the relay's coil!
Advantages of relays:

Relays
Photographs Rapid Electronics

Relays can switch AC and DC, transistors can only switch DC.
Relays can switch high voltages, transistors cannot.
Relays are a better choice for switching large currents (> 5A).
Relays can switch many contacts at once.

Disadvantages of relays:

Relays are bulkier than transistors for switching small currents.

Relays cannot switch rapidly, transistors can switch many times per second.
Relays use more power due to the current flowing through their coil.
Relays require more current than many chips can provide, so a low power transistor
may be needed to switch the current for the relay's coil.

80

Connecting a transistor to the output from a chip

Most chips cannot supply large output currents so it may be necessary to use a
transistor to switch the larger current required for output devices such as lamps,
motors and relays. The 555 timer chip is unusual because it can supply a
relatively large current of up to 200mA which is sufficient for some output devices
such as low current lamps, buzzers and many relay coils without needing to use
a transistor.
A transistor can also be used to enable a chip connected to a low voltage supply
(such as 5V) to switch the current for an output device with a separate higher
voltage supply (such as 12V). The two power supplies must be linked, normally
this is done by linking their 0V connections. In this case you should use an NPN
transistor.
A resistor RB is required to limit the current flowing into the base of the transistor
and prevent it being damaged. However, RB must be sufficiently low to ensure
that the transistor is thoroughly saturated to prevent it overheating, this is
particularly important if the transistor is switching a large current (> 100mA). A
safe rule is to make the base current IB about five times larger than the value
which should just saturate the transistor.

Choosing a suitable NPN transistor

The circuit diagram shows how to connect
an NPN transistor, this will switch on the
load when the chip output is high. If you
need the opposite action, with the load
switched on when the chip output is low
(0V) please see the circuit for a
PNP transistor below.
The procedure below explains how to
choose a suitable switching transistor.
1. The transistor's maximum collector
current Ic(max) must be greater than
the load current Ic.
load current Ic =

supply voltage Vs
load resistance RL

NPN transistor switch

(load is on when chip output is high)

Using units in calculations

Remember to use V, A and or
V, mA and k . For more details
please see the Ohm's Law page.

2. The transistor's minimum current gain

hFE(min) must be at least five times
the load current Ic divided by the maximum output current from the chip.
hFE(min) > 5

load current Ic
max. chip current

3. Choose a transistor which meets these requirements and make a note of

its properties: Ic(max) and hFE(min).

81

There is a table showing technical data for some popular transistors on the transistors
page.

4. Calculate an approximate value for the base resistor:

Vc hFE where Vc = chip supply voltage
5 Ic (in a simple circuit with one supply this is Vs)
For a simple circuit where the chip and the load share the same power supply (Vc = Vs)
you may prefer to use: RB = 0.2 RL hFE

RB =

5.

6. Then choose the nearest standard value for the base resistor.
7. Finally, remember that if the load is a motor or relay coil a protection diode
is required.

Example
The output from a 4000 series CMOS chip is required to operate a relay with a 100 coil.
The supply voltage is 6V for both the chip and load. The chip can supply a maximum current of
5mA.
1. Load current = Vs/RL = 6/100 = 0.06A = 60mA, so transistor must have Ic(max) > 60mA.
2. The maximum current from the chip is 5mA, so transistor must have hFE(min) > 60
(5 60mA/5mA).
3. Choose general purpose low power transistor BC182 with Ic(max) = 100mA and
hFE(min) = 100.
4. RB = 0.2 RL hFE = 0.2 100 100 = 2000
. so choose RB = 1k8 or 2k2.
5. The relay coil requires a protection diode.

Choosing a suitable PNP transistor

The circuit diagram shows how to connect a
PNP transistor, this will switch on the load
when the chip output is low (0V). If you
PNP transistor switch
need the opposite action, with the load
(load is on when chip output is low)
switched on when the chip output is high
please see the circuit for an NPN transistor above.
The procedure for choosing a suitable PNP transistor is exactly the same as that
for an NPN transistor described above.

Using a transistor switch with sensors

82

The top circuit diagram shows an LDR (light

sensor) connected so that the LED lights
when the LDR is in darkness. The variable
resistor adjusts the brightness at which the
transistor switches on and off. Any general
purpose low power transistor can be used in
this circuit.
LED lights when the LDR is dark

The 10k fixed resistor protects the transistor

from excessive base current (which will
destroy it) when the variable resistor is
reduced to zero. To make this circuit switch at
a suitable brightness you may need to
experiment with different values for the fixed
resistor, but it must not be less than 1k .
If the transistor is switching a load with a coil,
such as a motor or relay, remember to add a
protection diode across the load.
The switching action can be inverted, so
LED lights when the LDR is bright
the LED lights when the LDR is brightly lit, by
swapping the LDR and variable resistor. In
this case the fixed resistor can be omitted because the LDR resistance cannot be
reduced to zero.
Note that the switching action of this circuit is not particularly good because there
will be an intermediate brightness when the transistor will be partly on (not
saturated). In this state the transistor is in danger of overheating unless it is
switching a small current. There is no problem with the small LED current, but the
larger current for a lamp, motor or relay is likely to cause overheating.
Other sensors, such as a thermistor, can be used with this circuit, but they may
require a different variable resistor. You can calculate an approximate value for
the variable resistor (Rv) by using a multimeter to find the minimum and
maximum values of the sensor's resistance (Rmin and Rmax):
Variable resistor, Rv = square root of (Rmin Rmax)
For example an LDR: Rmin = 100 , Rmax = 1M , so Rv = square root of (100 1M) = 10k .

You can make a much better switching circuit with sensors connected to a
suitable IC (chip). The switching action will be much sharper with no partly on
state.

83

A transistor inverter (NOT gate)

Inverters (NOT gates) are available on logic chips but if you only require one
inverter it is usually better to use this circuit. The output signal (voltage) is the
inverse of the input signal:
When the input is high (+Vs) the output is low (0V).
When the input is low (0V) the output is high (+Vs).
Any general purpose low power NPN transistor
can be used. For general use RB = 10k and
RC = 1k , then the inverter output can be
connected to a device with an input impedance
(resistance) of at least 10k such as a logic chip
or a 555 timer (trigger and reset inputs).
If you are connecting the inverter to a CMOS logic
chip input (very high impedance) you can increase
RB to 100k and RC to 10k , this will reduce the
current used by the inverter.

84

Voltage and Current

Voltage and Current are vital to understanding electronics, but they are quite
hard to grasp because we can't see them directly.

Voltage is the Cause, Current is the Effect

Voltage attempts to make a current flow, and current will flow if the circuit is
complete. Voltage is sometimes described as the 'push' or 'force' of the electricity,
it isn't really a force but this may help you to imagine what is happening. It is
possible to have voltage without current, but current cannot flow without voltage.

Voltage and Current

Voltage but No Current

The switch is closed making a

complete circuit so current can
flow.

The switch is open so the circuit

is broken and current cannot
flow.

No Voltage and No
Current
Without the cell there is no
source of voltage so current
cannot flow.

Connecting a voltmeter in parallel

Voltage, V

Voltage is a measure of the energy carried by the charge.

Strictly: voltage is the "energy per unit charge".
The proper name for voltage is potential difference or p.d. for short, but
this term is rarely used in electronics.
Voltage is supplied by the battery (or power supply).
Voltage is used up in components, but not in wires.
We say voltage across a component.
85

Voltage is measured in volts, V.

Voltage is measured with a voltmeter, connected in parallel.
The symbol V is used for voltage in equations.

Voltage at a point and 0V (zero volts)

Voltage is a difference between two points, but in
electronics we often refer to voltage at a point
meaning the voltage difference between that point and
a reference point of 0V (zero volts).
Zero volts could be any point in the circuit, but to be
consistent it is normally the negative terminal of the
battery or power supply. You will often see circuit
diagrams labelled with 0V as a reminder.
You may find it helpful to think of voltage like height in geography. The reference point of zero
height is the mean (average) sea level and all heights are measured from that point. The zero
volts in an electronic circuit is like the mean sea level in geography.

Zero volts for circuits with a dual supply

Some circuits require a dual supply with three supply
connections as shown in the diagram. For these circuits the
zero volts reference point is the middle terminal between
the two parts of the supply.
On complex circuit diagrams using a dual
supply the earth symbol is often used to
indicate a connection to 0V, this helps to reduce
the number of wires drawn on the diagram.
The diagram shows a 9V dual supply, the
positive terminal is +9V, the negative terminal is
-9V and the middle terminal is 0V.

Current, I

Current is the rate of flow of charge.

Current is not used up, what flows into
a component must flow out.
Connecting an ammeter in series 86

We say current through a component.

Current is measured in amps (amperes), A.
Current is measured with an ammeter, connected in series.
To connect in series you must break the circuit and put the ammeter acoss the gap, as
shown in the diagram.

The symbol I is used for current in equations.

Why is the letter I used for current? ... please see FAQ.

1A (1 amp) is quite a large current for electronics, so mA (milliamps) are often

used. m (milli) means "thousandth":
1mA = 0.001A, or 1000mA = 1A
The need to break the circuit to connect in series means that ammeters are difficult to use on
soldered circuits. Most testing in electronics is done with voltmeters which can be easily
connected without disturbing circuits.

Voltage and Current for components in Series

Voltages add up for components connected in series.
Currents are the same through all components
connected in series.
In this circuit the 4V across the resistor and the 2V across
the LED add up to the battery voltage: 2V + 4V = 6V.
The current through all parts (battery, resistor and LED) is
20mA.

Voltage and Current for components in Parallel

Voltages are the same across all components
connected in parallel.
Currents add up for components connected in parallel.
In this circuit the battery, resistor and lamp all have 6V
across them.
The 30mA current through the resistor and the 60mA
current through the lamp add up to the 90mA current
87

through the battery.

88

Ohm's law

A voltage source, V, drives an electric current, I , through resistor, R, the three quantities
obeying Ohm's law: V = IR.
Ohm's law states that, in an electrical circuit, the current passing through a conductor
from one terminal point on the conductor to another terminal point on the conductor is
directly proportional to the potential difference (i.e. voltage drop or voltage) across the
two terminal points and inversely proportional to the resistance of the conductor between
the two terminal points. In mathematical terms, this is written as:

where I is the current, V is the potential difference, and R is a constant called the
resistance. The potential difference is also known as the voltage drop, and is sometimes
denoted by E or U instead of V. [1]
The SI unit of current is the ampere; that of potential difference is the volt; and that of
resistance is the ohm, equal to one volt per ampere.
The law was named after the physicist Georg Ohm, who, in a treatise published in 1827,
described measurements of applied voltage, and current passing through, simple electrical
circuits containing various lengths of wire, and presented a slightly more complex
equation than the above equation to explain his experimental results. The equation above
could not exist until the ohm, a unit of resistance, was defined (1861, 1864).
For real devices (resistors, in particular), this law is usually valid over a large range of
values of current and voltage, but exceeding certain limitations may result in losing
simple direct proportionality (e.g. temperature effects, see below).

89

Elementary description and use

Electrical circuits consist of electrical devices connected by wires (or other suitable
conductors). (See the article electrical circuits for some basic combinations.) The above
diagram shows one of the simplest electrical circuits that can be constructed. One
electrical device is shown as a circle with + and - terminals, which represents a voltage
source such as a battery. The other device is illustrated by a zig-zag symbol and has an R
beside it. This symbol represents a resistor, and the R designates its resistance. The + or
positive terminal of the voltage source is connected to one of the terminals of the resistor
using a wire of negligible resistance, and through this wire a current I is shown to be
passing, in a specified direction illustrated by the arrow. The other terminal of the resistor
is connected to the - or negative terminal of the voltage source by a second wire. This
configuration forms a complete circuit because all the current that leaves one terminal of
the voltage source must return to the other terminal of the voltage source. (While not
shown, because electrical engineers assume that it exists, there is an implied current I,
and an arrow pointing to the left, associated with the second wire.)
Voltage is the electrical force that moves (negatively charged) electrons through wires
and electrical devices, current is the rate of electron flow, and resistance is the property of
a resistor (or other device that obeys Ohm's law) that limits current to an amount
proportional to the applied voltage. So, for a given resistance R (ohms), and a given
voltage V (volts) established across the resistance, Ohm's law provides the equation
(I=V/R) for calculating the current that must flow through the resistor (or device).
The 'conductor' mentioned by Ohm's law is a circuit element across which the voltage is
measured. Resistors are conductors that slow down the passage of electric charge. A
resistor with a high value of resistance, say greater than 10 mega ohms, is a poor
conductor, while a resistor with a low value, say less than 0.1 ohm, is a good conductor.
(Insulators are electrical devices that, for most practical purposes, do not allow a current
to flow when voltage is applied.)
In a circuit diagram like the one above, the various components may be joined by
connectors, contacts, welds or solder joints of various kinds, but for simplicity these
connections are usually not shown.

Physics
Physicists often use the continuum form of Ohm's Law:
where J is the
current density (current per unit area), is the conductivity (which can be a tensor in
anisotropic materials) and E is the electric field.
The common form
version.

used in circuit design is the macroscopic, averaged-out

90

The continuum form of the equation is only valid in the reference frame of the
conducting material. If the material is moving at velocity v relative to a magnetic field B,
a term must be added as follows

The analogy to the Lorentz force is obvious, and in fact Ohm's law can be derived from
the Lorentz force and the assumption that there is a drag on the charge carriers
proportional to their velocity.
A perfect metal lattice would have no resistivity, but a real metal has crystallographic
defects, impurities, multiple isotopes, and thermal motion of the atoms. Electrons scatter
from all of these, resulting in resistance to their flow.
Ohm's law is sufficient to derive both Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL) and Kirchhoff's
current law (KCL). Let us first examine only the right-hand side of the equation:

and calculate the line integral around a closed contour:

Applying Stokes's theorem, we can write over the surface bounded by the countour:

but, since E is the gradient of a scalar potential, yielding:

and gradients are irrotational, we have:

thereby proving KCL. Returning to the original formulation of Ohm's law:

and forming the closed line integrals again:

91

and recalling from Maxwell's equations that curl(H) = J:

we apply Stokes's theorem to obtain:

From our preceding derivation, we know that the right-hand side evaluates to zero:

thus proving that the net current flow through an open surface is zero, which restates
KCL.

How electrical and electronic engineers use Ohm's law

Ohm's Law is one of the equations used in the analysis of electrical circuits, whether the
analysis is done by engineers or computers. Even though, today, computers running
electronic computer aided design and analysis programs do the bulk of the work
predicting and optimizing the performance of electrical circuits (in particular, those
circuits to be fabricated on silicon chips), most electrical engineers still use Ohm's Law
every working day. Whether designing or debugging an electrical circuit, electrical
engineers must have a working knowledge of the practical aspects of Ohm's law.
Virtually all electronic circuits have resistive elements which are almost always
considered ideal ohmic devices, i.e. they obey Ohm's Law. From the engineer's point of
view, resistors (devices that "resist" the flow of electrical current) develop a voltage
across their terminal conductors (e.g. the two wires emerging from the device)
proportional to the amount of current flowing through the device.
More specifically, the voltage measured across a resistor at a given instant is strictly
proportional to the current passing through the resistor at that instant. When a functioning
electrical circuit drives a current I, measured in amperes, through a resistor of resistance
R, the voltage that develops across the resistor is I R, the value of R serving as the
proportionality factor. (That current must have been supplied by a circuit element
functioning as a current source and it must be passed on to a circuit element that serves as
a current sink.) Thus resistors act like current-to-voltage converters (just as springs act
like displacement-to-force converters).

92

Similarly, a circuit may incorporate a resistor (of resistance R) designed to function as a

voltage-to-current converter. In such a circuit, a desired voltage V is established across
the resistor in order to force a current I exactly equal to 1/R times V to flow through the
resistor.
The DC resistance of a resistor is always a positive quantity, and the current flowing
through a resistor generates (waste) heat in the resistor as it does in one of Ohm's wires.
Voltages can be either positive or negative, and are always measured with respect to a
reference point. When we say that a point in a circuit has a certain voltage, it is
understood that this voltage is really a voltage difference (a two terminal measurement)
and that there is an understood, or explicitly stated, reference point, often called ground
or common. Currents can be either positive or negative, the sign of the current indicating
the direction of current flow. Current flow in a wire consists of the slow drift of electrons
due to the influence of a voltage established between two points on the wire.
Since the resistance of a resistor is always positive and the equation describing Ohm's
law does not in itself constrain R to be positive (by being written as: |V|=|I| R), there is
the potential for computing a negative value for R. Using measurements of voltage and
current that are made correctly, the sign of a computed R is never negative. When a
negative R is computed based on a measurement of the voltage drop across a resistor and
a measurement of the current passing through the resistor, then one of the two
measurements must have been made improperly. When circuits are analyzed, the
direction of flow of current between circuit elements may not be known or obvious. In
this case, the direction of the current is assigned arbitrarily. Should a sign error (one that
implies a negative resistance) arise during the analysis, the error is resolved by asserting
that the initially assigned direction of current was incorrect, and that the actual direction
of current is in the direction opposite to the initially assigned direction.

Various I vs. V graphs representing ohmic (blue line) and non-ohmic devices (red and
yellow curves).
Non-ohmic and active components may actually have negative differential resistance, a
subject discussed in its own article. The word 'differential' is key, though often omitted,
because it describes the characteristics of an interesting portion of the I vs. V curve of the
non-ohmic device. At no time is the 'static' resistance itself negative.
93

Certain powered circuit devices, constructed as two terminal devices and tested as if they
were a resistor (by applying a voltage across the two terminals while measuring the
current), may exhibit actual negative resistance. Ohm's law is not intended to apply to
such devices. Further the law of conservation of energy is not violated because there is an
integrated source of power.
Ohm's law applies to conductors whose resistance is (substantially) independent of the
applied voltage (or equivalently the injected current). That is, Ohm's law only applies to
the linear portion of the I vs. V curve centered around the origin. The equation is just too
simple to encompass devices described by a more complicated I vs. V relationship.
The blue line in the I vs. V graph at right represents ohmic devices because current is
directly (linearly) proportional to the applied voltage. The slope of the blue line is 1/R.
The graph's red line represents a non-ohmic device such as a lamp filament because as
more voltage is applied, heating the filament, the filament's resistance rises, forcing the
(magnitude of the) slope to decrease. The graph's yellow line illustrates the I vs. V
characteristics of a non-ohmic two terminal circuit having semi-conductor components
(such as paralleled and oppositely oriented diodes).

Hydraulic Analogs
While the terms voltage, current and resistance are fairly intuitive terms, beginning
students of electrical engineering might find the analog terms for water flow helpful.
Water pressure, measured by international units in pascals (and commonly in units of
pounds-force per square inch), is the analog of voltage because establishing a water
pressure difference between two points along a (horizontal) pipe causes water to flow.
Water flow rate, as in liters (or gallons) of water per minute, is the analog of current, as in
coulombs per second. Finally, flow restrictors such as apertures placed in pipes between
points where the water pressure is measured are the analog of resistors. We say that the
rate of water flow through an aperture restrictor is proportional to the difference in water
pressure across the restrictor. Similarly, the rate of flow of electrical charge, i.e. the
electrical current, passing through an electrical resistor is proportional to the difference in
voltage measured across the resistor.

Sheet resistance
Thin metal films, usually deposited on insulating substrates, are used for various
purposes, the electrical current traveling parallel to the plane of the film. When describing
the electrical resistivity of such devices, the term ohms-per-square is used. See sheet
resistance.

Temperature effects
When the temperature of the conductor increases, the collisions between electrons and
atoms increase. Thus as a substance heats up because of electricity flowing through it (or
by any heating process), the resistance will usually increase. The exception is
94

semiconductors. The resistance of an Ohmic substance depends on temperature in the

following way:

where is the resistivity, L is the length of the conductor, A is its cross-sectional area, T is
its temperature, T0 is a reference temperature (usually room temperature), and 0 and
are constants specific to the material of interest. In the above expression, we have
assumed that L and A remain unchanged within the temperature range.
It is worth mentioning that temperature dependence does not make a substance nonohmic, because at a given temperature R does not vary with voltage or current (V / I =
constant).
Intrinsic semiconductors exhibit the opposite temperature behavior, becoming better
conductors as the temperature increases. This occurs because the electrons are bumped to
the conduction energy band by the thermal energy, where they can flow freely and in
doing so they leave behind holes in the valence band which can also flow freely.
Extrinsic semiconductors have much more complex temperature behaviour. First the
electrons (or holes) leave the donors (or acceptors) giving a decreasing resistance. Then
there is a fairly flat phase in which the semiconductor is normally operated where almost
all of the donors (or acceptors) have lost their electrons (or holes) but the number of
electrons that have jumped right over the energy gap is negligible compared to the
number of electrons (or holes) from the donors (or acceptors). Finally as the temperature
increases further the carriers that jump the energy gap becomes the dominant figure and
the material starts behaving like an intrinsic semiconductor.

Strain (mechanical) effects

Just as the resistance of a conductor depends upon temperature, the resistance of a
conductor depends upon strain. By placing a conductor under tension (a form of strain),
which means to mechanically stretch the conductor, the length of the section of conductor
under tension increases and its cross-sectional area decreases. Both these effects
contribute to increasing the resistance of the strained section of conductor. Under
compression (the other form of strain), the resistance of the strained section of conductor
decreases. See the discussion on strain gauges for details about devices constructed to
take advantage of this effect.

AC circuits
For an AC circuit Ohm's law can be written
, where V and I are the
oscillating phasor voltage and current respectively and Z is the complex impedance for
the frequency of oscillation.
95

In a transmission line, the phasor form of Ohm's law above breaks down because of
reflections. In a lossless transmission line, the ratio of voltage and current follows the
complicated expression

,
where d is the distance from the load impedance ZL measured in wavelengths, is the
wavenumber of the line, and Z0 is the characteristic impedance of the line.

Relation to heat conduction

Ohm's principle predicts the flow of electrical charge (i.e. current) in electrical
conductors when subjected to the influence of voltage differences; Jean-Baptiste-Joseph
Fourier's principle predicts the flow of heat in heat conductors when subjected to the
influence of temperature differences. The same equation describes both phenomena, the
equation's variables taking on different meanings in the two cases. Specifically, solving a
heat conduction (Fourier) problem with temperature (the driving "force") and flux of heat
(the rate of flow of the driven "quantity", i.e. heat energy) variables also solves an
analogous electrical conduction (Ohm) problem having electric potential (the driving
"force") and electric current (the rate of flow of the driven "quantity", i.e. charge)
variables. The basis of Fourier's work was his clear conception and definition of thermal
conductivity. He assumed that, all else being the same, the flux of heat is strictly
proportional to the gradient of temperature. Although undoubtedly true for small
temperature gradients, strictly proportional behavior will be lost when real materials (e.g.
ones having a thermal conductivity that is a function of temperature) are subjected to
large temperature gradients. A similar assumption is made in the statement of Ohm's law:
other things being alike, the strength of the current at each point is proportional to the
gradient of electric potential. The accuracy of the assumption that flow is proportional to
the gradient is more readily tested, using modern measurement methods, for the electrical
case than for the heat case.

96

Ohm's Law

To make a current flow through a resistance there must be a voltage across that
resistance. Ohm's Law shows the relationship between the voltage (V), current (I)
and resistance (R). It can be written in three ways:

V=IR
where:

or

I=

V
R

or

R=

V = voltage in volts (V)

I = current in amps (A)
R = resistance in ohms ( )

V
I

or:

V = voltage in volts (V)

I = current in milliamps (mA)
R = resistance in kilohms (k )

For most electronic circuits the amp is too large and the ohm is too small, so we
often measure current in milliamps (mA) and resistance in kilohms (k ). 1 mA =
0.001 A and 1 k = 1000 .
The Ohm's Law equations work if you use V, A and , or if you use V, mA and k
. You must not mix these sets of units in the equations so you may need to
convert between mA and A or k and .

The VIR triangle

You can use the VIR triangle to help you remember the three
versions of Ohm's Law.
Write down V, I and R in a triangle like the one in the yellow box on
the right.
To calculate voltage, V: put your finger over V,
this leaves you with I R, so the equation is V = I R
To calculate current, I: put your finger over I,
this leaves you with V over R, so the equation is I = V/R
To calculate resistance, R: put your finger over R,
this leaves you with V over I, so the equation is R = V/I

Ohm's Law
triangle

Ohm's Law Calculations

97

Use this method to guide you through calculations:

1. Write down the Values, converting units if necessary.
2. Select the Equation you need (use the VIR triangle).
3. Put the Numbers into the equation and calculate the answer.

V
I

It should be Very Easy Now!

3 V is applied across a 6 resistor, what is the current?

o Values: V = 3 V, I = ?, R = 6
o Equation: I = V/R
o Numbers: Current, I = 3/6 = 0.5 A

A lamp connected to a 6 V battery passes a current of 60 mA, what is the

lamp's resistance?
o Values: V = 6 V, I = 60 mA, R = ?
o Equation: R = V/I
o Numbers: Resistance, R = 6/60 = 0.1 k = 100
(using mA for current means the calculation gives the resistance in
k )

A 1.2 k resistor passes a current of 0.2 A, what is the voltage across it?
o Values: V = ?, I = 0.2 A, R = 1.2 k = 1200
(1.2 k is converted to 1200 because A and k must not be used
together)
o Equation: V = I R
o Numbers: V = 0.2 1200 = 240 V

98

Logic Gates
Gate types: NOT | AND | NAND | OR | NOR | EX-OR | EX-NOR
Symbols | Truth tables | Logic ICs | Summary truth tables | Combinations | Substituting

Next Page: Capacitance and Uses of Capacitors

Also see: Logic ICs | 4000 Series | 74 Series

Introduction
Logic gates process signals which represent true or false.
Normally the positive supply voltage +Vs represents true and 0V
represents false. Other terms which are used for the true and
false states are shown in the table on the right. It is best to be
familiar with them all.

Logic states
True False
1

High

Low

+Vs

0V

On

Off

Gates are identified by their function: NOT, AND, NAND, OR,

NOR, EX-OR and EX-NOR. Capital letters are normally used to make it clear that
the term refers to a logic gate.
Note that logic gates are not always required because simple logic functions can
be performed with switches or diodes:

Switches in series (AND function)

Switches in parallel (OR function)
Combining chip outputs with diodes (OR function)

Logic gate symbols

There are two series of symbols for logic gates:
The traditional symbols have distinctive shapes making them easy to
recognise so they are widely used in industry and education.

The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) symbols are

rectangles with a symbol inside to show the gate function. They are rarely
used despite their official status, but you may need to know them for an
examination.
99

Inputs and outputs

Gates have two or more inputs, except a NOT gate
which has only one input. All gates have only one
output. Usually the letters A, B, C and so on are
used to label inputs, and Q is used to label the
output. On this page the inputs are shown on the left
and the output on the right.

The inverting circle (o)

Some gate symbols have a circle on their output which
means that their function includes inverting of the output. It
is equivalent to feeding the output through a NOT gate. For
example the NAND (Not AND) gate symbol shown on the
right is the same as an AND gate symbol but with the
addition of an inverting circle on the output.

Truth tables
A truth table is a good way to show the function of a
logic gate. It shows the output states for every
possible combination of input states. The symbols 0
(false) and 1 (true) are usually used in truth tables.
The example truth table on the right shows the inputs
and output of an AND gate.

Input A Input B Output Q

0

There are summary truth tables below showing the output states for all types of
2-input and 3-input gates. These can be helpful if you are trying to select a
suitable gate.

Logic ICs

100

Logic gates are available on special ICs (chips) which usually contain several
gates of the same type, for example the 4001 IC contains four 2-input NOR
gates. There are several families of logic ICs and they can be split into two
groups:
4000 Series
74 Series
To quickly compare the different families please see:
Summary table of logic families
The 4000 and 74HC families are the best for battery powered projects because
they will work with a good range of supply voltages and they use very little power.
However, if you are using them to design circuits and investigate logic gates
please remember that all unused inputs MUST be connected to the power supply
(either +Vs or 0V), this applies even if that part of the IC is not being used in the
circuit!

NOT gate (inverter)

The output Q is true when the input A is NOT true, the output is the inverse of the
input: Q = NOT A
A NOT gate can only have one input. A NOT gate is also called an inverter.
Input A Output Q

Traditional symbol

IEC symbol

Truth Table

AND gate
The output Q is true if input A AND input B are both true: Q = A AND B
An AND gate can have two or more inputs, its output is true if all inputs are true.
Input A Input B Output Q
0

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Traditional symbol

IEC symbol

Truth Table

NAND gate (NAND = Not AND)

This is an AND gate with the output inverted, as shown by the 'o' on the output.
The output is true if input A AND input B are NOT both true: Q = NOT (A AND B)
A NAND gate can have two or more inputs, its output is true if NOT all inputs are
true.
Input A Input B Output Q

Traditional symbol

IEC symbol

Truth Table

OR gate
The output Q is true if input A OR input B is true (or both of them are true):
Q = A OR B
An OR gate can have two or more inputs, its output is true if at least one input is
true.
Input A Input B Output Q

Traditional symbol

IEC symbol

Truth Table

NOR gate (NOR = Not OR)

This is an OR gate with the output inverted, as shown by the 'o' on the output.
The output Q is true if NOT inputs A OR B are true: Q = NOT (A OR B)
A NOR gate can have two or more inputs, its output is true if no inputs are true.

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Input A Input B Output Q

Traditional symbol

IEC symbol

Truth Table

EX-OR (EXclusive-OR) gate

The output Q is true if either input A is true OR input B is true, but not when
both of them are true: Q = (A AND NOT B) OR (B AND NOT A)
This is like an OR gate but excluding both inputs being true.
The output is true if inputs A and B are DIFFERENT.
EX-OR gates can only have 2 inputs.
Input A Input B Output Q

Traditional symbol

IEC symbol

Truth Table

EX-NOR (EXclusive-NOR) gate

This is an EX-OR gate with the output inverted, as shown by the 'o' on the output.
The output Q is true if inputs A and B are the SAME (both true or both false):
Q = (A AND B) OR (NOT A AND NOT B)
EX-NOR gates can only have 2 inputs.
Input A Input B Output Q
0

103

Traditional symbol

IEC symbol

Truth Table

Summary truth tables

The summary truth tables below show the output states for all types of 2-input
and 3-input gates.
Summary for all 2-input gates
Inputs
OR N
OREX
OREX
B
NORO
utput
of
each
gate A
0A
ND
0
NA
ND

Summary for all 3-input gates

Inputs

Output of each gate

A B C AND NAND OR NOR

Note that EX-OR and EX-NOR

gates can only have 2 inputs.

Combinations of logic gates

Logic gates can be combined to produce more
complex functions. They can also be combined to
substitute one type of gate for another.
For example to produce an output Q which is true only
when input A is true and input B is false, as shown in

Input A Input B Output Q

0

0
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the truth table on the right, we can combine a NOT gate and an AND gate like
this:

Q = A AND NOT B

Inputs

Outputs

B C D E Q

Working out the function of a combination of

gates

Truth tables can be used to work out the function of a

combination of gates.

For example the truth table on the right show the

intermediate outputs D and E as well as the final output Q
for the system shown below.

D = NOT (A OR B)
E = B AND C
Q = D OR E = (NOT (A OR B)) OR (B AND C)

Substituting one type of gate for another

Logic gates are available on ICs which usually contain several gates of the same
type, for example four 2-input NAND gates or three 3-input NAND gates. This
can be wasteful if only a few gates are required unless they are all the same
type. To avoid using too many ICs you can reduce the number of gate inputs or
substitute one type of gate for another.

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Reducing the number of inputs

The number of inputs to a gate can be reduced by connecting
two (or more) inputs together. The diagram shows a 3-input
AND gate operating as a 2-input AND gate.

Making a NOT gate from a NAND or NOR gate

Reducing a NAND or NOR gate to just one input creates a
NOT gate. The diagram shows this for a 2-input NAND gate.

Any gate can be built from NAND or NOR gates

As well as making a NOT gate, NAND or NOR gates can be combined to create
any type of gate! This enables a circuit to be built from just one type of gate,
either NAND or NOR. For example an AND gate is a NAND gate then a NOT
gate (to undo the inverting function). Note that AND and OR gates cannot be
used to create other gates because they lack the inverting (NOT) function.
To change the type of gate, such as changing OR to AND, you must do three
things:

Invert (NOT) each input.

Change the gate type (OR to AND, or AND to OR)
Invert (NOT) the output.

For example an OR gate can be built from NOTed inputs fed into a NAND (AND
+ NOT) gate.

NAND gate equivalents

The table below shows the NAND gate equivalents of NOT, AND, OR and NOR
gates:
Gate

Equivalent in NAND gates

NOT

AND

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OR

NOR

Substituting gates in an example logic system

The original system has 3
different gates: NOR, AND and
OR. This requires three ICs
(one for each type of gate).
To re-design this system using
NAND gates only begin by
replacing each gate with its
NAND gate equivalent, as
shown in the diagram below.

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Then simplify the system by deleting adjacent pairs of NOT gates (marked X
above). This can be done because the second NOT gate cancels the action of
the first.
The final system is shown on the right. It has five NAND gates and requires two
ICs (with four gates on each IC). This is better than the original system which
required three ICs (one for each type of gate).
Substituting NAND (or NOR) gates does not always increase the number of
gates, but when it does (as in this example) the increase is usually only one or
two gates. The real benefit is reducing the number of ICs required by using just
one type of gate.

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