ENERGY AND SOCIETY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2021/2022
- Teacher
- GIOVANNI FIORENTINI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- FIS/01
Training objectives
- Our energy system is rapidly evolving. The major challenges facing us include long-term security of energy supply, access to sustainable energy for all and climate change mitigation.
The aim of the course is to provide basic knowledge on the different aspects of energy systems, presenting the different phases necessary to provide energy to society and in particular:
- The collection of energy;
- the conversion between the different forms of energy;
- the transport of energy;
- energy storage;
- the distribution of energy;
- the final use.
The emphasis will be placed on dimensional analysis and on the determination of orders of magnitude. Prerequisites
- - Basic concepts of classical physics as obtained in undergraduate courses.
- Specific pedagogical focus will be given to ensuring that mathematical content is accessible to all students, regardless of academic background. Course programme
- The main topics covered in this course are as follows:
A) ENERGY AND WORK (4 hours)
A.1 Why energy is important
A.2 Energy and civilization
A.3 Energy conservation
A.4 Energy measurements
B) ENERGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE (12 hours)
B.1 Energy around us (in foods, fuels, weapons…)
B.2 the family bill for gas and electricity
B.3 Cars: money, energy and C02
B.4. Freight Transportation: energy costs
C) Energy sources, uses and impacts (6 hours)
C.1 Energy sources and their origin
C.2 Climate, energy and C02
C.3 Energy utilization
D) Energy from fossil fuels (6)
D.1 Carbon
D.2 Oil
D.3 Gas
B) Alternative energies (18 hours)
E.1 Nuclear power
E.2 Wind energy
E.3 Hydro-energy
E.4 The solar resource (Vincenzi)
E5. Geothermal energy (Mantovani)
F) Energy storage and distribution ( 8 hours)
F.1 From supercapacitors to batteries
F.2 Pumped systems
F.3 Hydrogen
F.4 The electric network in the era of distributed generation Didactic methods
- The course is based on lectures, covering the various topics of the course course and on exercises, aiming at providing quantitative estimates of the physical processes involved.
In addition, specialized seminars on selected topics are planned Learning assessment procedures
- The oral exam will be based on the discussion of a report and/or a presentation by the student; he/she will report his results on a subject agreed with the instructor in the final stages of the course. This discussion will be used to assess the knowledge and the skills developed by the student.
Reference texts
- -Lecture notes provided by the teacher
-R. Mueller, Physics and Technology for future presidents
-J. Andrews and N. Jelley, Energy science, technology and impact
