Exercise 17. Give your own examples of the so-called “routine brain work”.

Exercise 18. Suggest some other title of the text.

Exercise 19. Suggest subtitles to each paragraph of the text.

Exercise 20. Express the main idea of the text in the shortest possible way.

 

X. Reading.

Exercise 21. Skim the text C.

Text C.

Electric Fields

If two charges particles come close to each other, they will experience a force. If the two particles are alike in charge, the force will be one of repulsion. If the two particles are opposite in charge, the force will be one of attraction. The repulsion and attraction of particles occurs because charged particles have electric fields around them.

An electric field is the region surrounding a charged particle in which an electric force affecting other charged particles is noticeable. The electric field is strongest near the charged particle. It is weakest far away from the charged particle. The strength of an electric field depends upon the distance from the charged particle. As the distance from a charged particle increases, the strength of the electric field decreases.

 

XI. Comprehension.

Exercise 22. Agree or disagree.

1. If two charges particles come close to each other, they will experience a force.

2. If two charges particles are opposite in charge, the force will be one of repulsion.

3. An electric force affecting other charges particles is unnoticeable.

4. The electric field is not so strong near the charged particle.

5. The strength of an electric field depends upon the distance from the charged particle.

 

XII. Language.

Exercise 23. Give definition of an electric field.

 

XIII. Oral Practice.

Exercise 24. Explain what will happen if two charged particles come close to each other.

Exercise 25. Tell about electric fields.

Supplementary Texts

After you have read the texts answer the following questions.

Try to express your answer in your own words if possible.

Non-traditional sources of energy

Biomass: We are fortunate in the United States and around the world to have large resources of organic material, called biomass. In the long run the most effective way to use biomass is likely to be gasification, where the resulting gas can either be used as fuel for high efficiency combusting turbines or as synthesis material for producing liquid fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy has a series of projects underway to determine how to most effectively use biomass for energy production. We’re learning to do that in biomass-coal cofiring experiments in New York state, and in biogasification experiments with bagasse (the residue from sugar cane) in Hawaii, with wood in Vermont, with switchgrass in Iowa, and with alfalfa in Minnesota. Biomass-based electricity has the important advantage of being a baseload technology – it can be operated 24 hours a day, unlike electricity derived from intermitted renewable sources such as solar and wind. It is also carbon dioxide natural – the carbon dioxide released during its use is recaptured by the biomass during its growth. Electricity costs are expected to be competitive as long as biomass resources costs remain reasonable, and the revenue to be derived from the sale of biomass resources can be an important component in rural economic development.

Wind: Many locations in the world offer large wind resources, and wind in the fastest growing energy technology in the world today (from the Dakotas south through the plains states to Texas) have more wind potential than California. Today’s highly reliable machines (typically available 95-98 percent of the time) provide electricity at 5 cents per kilowatt-hour with a 17 mile-per-hour average wind speed. The next generation of turbines, currently under development, should provide electricity at 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in 15-mile-per-hour wind regimes and at just under 4 cents per kilowatt-hour in 13 mile-per-hour regimes. Use of wind energy is expending rapidly in many parts of the world, with Europe’s installed capacity now exceeding that of the United States (4000 megawatts versus 1700 megawatts) and India being the third larges market with 800 megawatts. Large wind projects are also being planned for China and other parts of the developing world.

Hydropower is the most mature form of renewable energy, and is already providing a significant share of the world’s electricity. A large potential exists for further hydropower development in many developing parts of the world, but significant expansion in developed countries is unlikely to occur because of environmental concerns.

Wind direction, November, 2002

Questions for text:

1. Enumerate non-traditional source of energy.

2. What is biomass and what is it used for?

3. Give examples of using biomass in the U.S.A.

4. Where are wind resources used?

5. What is the most renewable form of energy?

Electricity Restructuring

 

The restructuring of the U.S. electric power industry is slowly but inexorably proceeding. While the debate continues at the federal level about the need for restructuring and the appropriate role federal government, many states are moving ahead with their own plans. The states of Rhode Island, California, and Massachusetts are opening their electricity markets to retail competition in early 1998, and Pennsylvania has begun an extended retail-access pilot program. A total of 10 states have enacted restructuring legislation, and 36 others have some legislative or regulatory actions underway for restructuring. These changes raise the serious question of how renewables will fare in this new competitive market.

I believe that renewables are going to do well in a restructured environment, because increasing competition means that customers can express their preference in ways they could not in the past. Clearly, there is a strong desire by many electricity customers for “green” energy, environmental protection and for energy systems that create jobs and new export markets.

In many states, regulated utilities have already begun an important new renewable energy market trust – “green pricing”. Early indications are that people are willing to pay more for clean energy. When marketed well to the consumers, the green pricing programs, which typically offer either photovoltaic or wind power at a premium price, are often oversubscribed. And though I don’t believe the market for green power will carry the day for renewables by itself, it’s a very important trend.

Also of increasing significance is net metering, where individuals can sell locally generated power to utilities at the same rate that they purchase power from them. Currently, many utilities sell power at the full market rate, but buy power at their avoided cost rate, which is usually a third or a fourth of the market rate. Net metering is a national policy in Japan and Germany, and 17 U.S. states have implemented net metering programmes. It is an important policy incentive that encourages people to install renewable technologies at their homes, businesses and industries.

Meanwhile, states that are restructuring are struggling with the issue of how to maintain “public benefits” – low-income support, renewables, demand-side management, the environment. A “stranded benefits charge” is one way that states such as California have approached the issue, essentially taxing all electricity sales to provide funds to support these programs. Another approach for renewables is a “renewables portfolio standard”, which mandates that all power suppliers include a certain percentage of renewables in their power supply. There is been a lot of debate over the right approach to continuing support for renewables, and I suspect it will go on for several years.

Renewables are the most environmentally responsible technologies available for power generation, and these environmental benefits are probably the largest factor driving the U.S. renewables market today. Many states have implemented policies to encourage renewables for their environmental benefits, and many more are intending to address renewables in their restructuring legislation for the same reasons.

However, the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was signed in December 1997, could greatly accelerate these efforts, since it sets a commitment to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 7% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. If this protocol is ratified, renewables will clearly play a role in meeting this commitment. Of course, the question of weather this protocol will be ratified or not, and how the United States would implement it, is another source of uncertainly in the U.S. renewable energy market.