Future energy development
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Energy development is the ongoing effort to provide abundant and accessible energy, through knowledge, skills and construction. When converting energy from primary energy sources into more convenient energy forms, such as electrical energy. harnessing more primary energy and more efficient conversion are both essential.
Future energy development faces great challenges due to exaustion of[[fossil fuels]see Hubbert peak theory, an increasing world population, demands for higher standards of living and less pollution. The entire industrial world is utterly dependent on cheap energy. Without it,Agriculture, transportation,and much else that a developed nation takes for granted would be devastated, leading to a Malthusian catastrophe.
General considerations
All the energy we consume in the form of work is generated by the four fundamental interactions of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force and the strong nuclear force.Fission energy is generated by the splitting of a nucleus, into lighter parts. Fusion energy is generated by fusing two nuclei into one or more products whose total mass is less than the original nuclei, due to the strength of the strong nuclear force between the nuclear constituents. The resulting difference in mass is converted to energy in accordance withEinstein's equation E=mc2.Most forms of terrestrial energy can be traced back to fusion reactions inside the sun. Exceptions are gravitational energy, tidal power, nuclear power, and geothermal energy. Tidal energy comes from the gravitational potential energy of the Earth/Moon system. Geothermal energy is believed to be generated primarily by radioactive decay inside the Earth. v]·[ d]·[ e]