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Power Density
- A Key to Understanding Energy Sources and Uses
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
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Publisher's Summary
In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of the nature and dynamics of energy systems. Any understanding of complex energy systems must rely on quantitative measures of many fundamental variables. Power density—the rate of energy flux per unit of area—is an important but largely overlooked measure. Smil provides the first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of the power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, thermal electricity generation, and all common energy uses.
Smil shows that careful quantification, critical appraisals, and revealing comparisons of power densities make possible a deeper understanding of the ways we harness, convert, and use energies. Conscientious assessment of power densities, he argues, proves particularly revealing when contrasting the fossil fuel-based energy system with renewable energy conversions.
Smil explains that modern civilization has evolved as a direct expression of the high power densities of fossil fuel extraction. He argues that our inevitable move to new energy arrangements involving conversions of lower-density renewable energy sources will require our society—currently dominated by megacities and concentrated industrial production—to undergo a profound spatial restructuring of its energy system.
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What listeners say about Power Density
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Neil Brightwell
- 24-07-2022
A comprehensive review of evolving energy developments
The author gives a very detailed analysis of the likely problematic consequences of numerous energy transformation schemes often proposed by climate catastrophists and renewable energy enthusiasts (and dogmatists). The book is densely packed with numerical information, making for a difficult listen. Consequently, I will be doubling up with the kindle edition for further reference.
The author’s eminently sensible conclusion, that the widely desired energy evolution will be constrained by many geographical and energy density realities will make it more challenging and time consuming than the renewable energy enthusiasts imagine, is a breath of fresh air in the current conflicted debate.
Neil Brightwell
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