Chapter 17 Vocabulary

Wind Farm / Renewable Resource

A collection of wind turbines, called a wind farm, is an example of using a renewable resource to generate electricity.

Commutator

A commutator can switch the direction of electrical current in the electromagnet of an electric motor.

Generator

A device that uses electromagnetic induction to make electricity is called a Generator.

Fossil Fuel / Nonrenewable Source

A fossil fuel such as coal, petroleum, or natural gas is a nonrenewable source used to generate electricity.

Heat Pump System

A heat pump system takes advantage of Earth's constant shallow ground temperature for seasonal heating and cooling of buildings.

Kilowatt-Hour

A kilowatt-hour is a relatively large amount of energy, equal to 3.6 million joules.

Magnetic Field

A magnet fills the space around itself with a kind of potential energy called a magnetic field.

Magnetic Material

A magnetic material can create or respond to forces from magnets.

Solar Energy

A photovoltaic cell can convert solar energy to electricity.

Rotor

A rotor is the rotating disk of an electric motor.

Electromagnet

A simple electromagnet uses a coil of wire, often wrapped around an iron or steel object.

Biomass

A waste to energy plant uses biomass to generate electricity.

Electric Motor

An electric motor is a device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.

Permanent Magnets

Bar magnets, refrigerator magnets, and horseshoe magnets are all good examples of permanent magnets.

Electrical Power

Electrical power is the rate at which electrical energy is changed into other forms of energy.

Geothermal

Geothermal power plants use Earth's internal heat energy to generate electricity.

Hydroelectric

Hydroelectric plants will contribute over 50 percent of the renewable resource electricity generation in 2010.

Magnetic Declination

The difference between the direction a compass needle points and the direction of true north is called magnetic declination.

Electromagnetic Induction

The process by which a moving magnet creates voltage and current in a loop of wire is called Electromagnetic induction.