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BG:
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Energy and the Environment
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Location:
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SS Ballroom DE |
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Date:
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Monday, Aug.01 |
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Time:
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1:00PM - 3:00PM
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Presider:
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John Roeder,
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Co-Presiders(s):
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None
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Equipment:
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N/A
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BG01:
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Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage
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Location:
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SS Ballroom DE |
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Date:
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Monday, Aug.01 |
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Time:
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1:00PM - 1:30PM
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Author:
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Richard Flarend, Penn State Altoona
814-931-2750, ref7@psu.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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Tim Dolney, Jeremy Walsh
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Abstract:
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A large demand for energy in Pennsylvania is for space heating. Unfortunately, this demand coincides with low winter solar insolence making traditional solar thermal energy impractical for space heating. However it is possible to collect this solar energy in the summer and to store it for later use in the winter using a seasonal thermal energy storage system (STES). Existing STES systems have had a variety of problems due to cost, thermal losses, and/or slow thermal time constants of the storage field. This research has focused on designing and locating a potential site for a solar STES system using an abandoned coal mine that solves many of these problems. The design, dynamic simulation, and estimated performance of such a system will be presented. Construction estimates and return on investment will also be presented for a potential site in which a favorable abandoned mine has been found very close to a K-12 school.
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Footnotes:
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None
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BG02:
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Energy and Power Density in Society
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Location:
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SS Ballroom DE |
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Date:
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Monday, Aug.01 |
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Time:
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1:30PM - 2:00PM
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Author:
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Abigail R. Mechtenberg, University of Michigan
734-975-0724, amechten@Umich.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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None
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Abstract:
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From the dawn of civilization, energy density and power density has been sought and fought after. This talk will walk through the foundation civilization has built for ourselves throughout the technological and nontechnological world and compare it to how nature has evolved. We will ponder if economics has broken a historical global symmetry by making the lowest energy state not the preferable state and ask ourselves why? Ten interactive Societal Ragone Plots will be presented and passed out: from vehicles to robots to hummingbirds. Results from an agent-based model of African electricity microgrids will be presented and juxtaposed to policy implications in the U.S. for our centralized grid with and without nuclear power. Monte-carlo simulation results for a designed U.S. military forward operating base in Afghanistan will be presented to discuss the risk that explains an amazing quote that "the U.S. loses one person, killed or wounded, for every 24 fuel convoys it runs in Afghanistan to run air-conditioners and power diesel generators." Energy and power density engages with society -- from African health care to U.S. military risk to everyday U.S. civilian activities.
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Footnotes:
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None
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BG03:
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A Broad Look at the Energy Curriculum
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Location:
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SS Ballroom DE |
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Date:
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Monday, Aug.01 |
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Time:
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2:00PM - 2:30PM
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Author:
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Shawn Reeves, EnergyTeachers.org
607-216-7289, shawn@energyteachers.org
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Co-Author(s):
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None
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Abstract:
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Having consulted a broad sweep of educators teaching about energy for several years for EnergyTeachers.org, Mr. Reeves will comment on the integration of energy curriculum into the physics curriculum as well as the possibility of energy becoming its own field to rival the importance of physics. Learning new and even traditional energy concepts presents a challenge in the world of standardized or traditional curriculum, especially concerning sequence and rigor. Textbooks, professional development, lesson plans, field experiences, workforce training, and academic pathways need to be developed further. The content and structure of EnergyTeachers.org represents the wide range of answers to such challenges for K-16 and informal educators, but there is much work to be done. What role will physics educators have in this work?
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Footnotes:
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None
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BG04:
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Growth, Population, Resources, and the Meaning of Sustainability
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Location:
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SS Ballroom DE |
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Date:
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Monday, Aug.01 |
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Time:
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2:30PM - 3:00PM
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Author:
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Albert A. Bartlett, University of Colorado at Boulder
303-443-0595, Albert.Bartlett@Colorado.EDU
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Co-Author(s):
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None
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Abstract:
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Because they are used carelessly and indiscriminately, the words "sustainable" and "sustainability" have lost their meaning. The reasons for this loss of meaning range from simple carelessness to commercial greed. The ultimate contradiction is the oxymoron "sustainable growth." We will examine the definition of "sustainability" and then will look at what it has to mean in terms of growth, population, and the extraction of mineral and fuel resources from the Earth.
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Footnotes:
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None
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