Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet, 2021a

432
kWh
kilowatt-hour. 76, 159, 214, 272, 334, 335, 337, 338, 342, 348, 398, 431, 438
LED
light emitting diode. 21, 29, 78, 83, 431
life-cycle CO 2 emission
is an assessment of how much CO 2 is released from an energy source when considering the
entire enterprise—including manufacture/construction, operation, etc. See the Wikipedia page
on List of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. 181, 194, 218, 221, 264
liquefied natural gas
(LNG) is cryogenically-cooled natural gas (methane) at −160 ◦ C that can be stored much more
compactly than the gaseous form, making it suitable to transport. 432
LNG
liquefied natural gas. 121, 432
logistic
describes a mathematical model in which rate of growth depends on how close the population is
to the carrying capacity. The resulting population curve over time is called the logistic function,
or more informally, an S-curve. 34
macro-economics
concerns itself with the allocation of goods <strong>and</strong> services across the marketplace, optimizing
supply <strong>and</strong> dem<strong>and</strong>, aiming to minimize surplus or deficits. 323, 324, 433
mass number
(A) is simply the total number count of protons <strong>and</strong> neutrons (nucleons) inanucleus. For
example, a carbon atom having 6 protons <strong>and</strong> 6 neutrons has A 12. 240, 431
meltdown
refers to a failure mode of nuclear fission reactors, in which the chain reaction becomes
uncontrolled due to too many neutrons triggering new fission events (as may happen if control
rods are absent or insufficiently deployed). 262, 263, 425
MeV
is a mega-electron-volt, or10 6 eV.InJoules, it is equivalent to 1.6 × 10 −13 J. Nuclear masses are
often expressed in MeV/c 2 terms, where 1 a.m.u. is equivalent to 931.4941 MeV. 78, 246–248,
253, 265, 422, 427, 433, 435
micro-economics
concerns itself with the production of goods, including raw resources, marketing, <strong>and</strong> distribution.
323, 324, 433
micron
(μm) is 10 −6 meters, or a micro-meter. 198, 200, 438
moderator
in the context of nuclear fission is a material used to slow down neutrons speeding out from the
break-up so that they can become thermal neutrons <strong>and</strong> stimulate subsequent fission events in
a chain reaction. Light atoms like water are a good choice for absorbing the neutron impacts.
251, 255, 256, 423
molar mass
is the mass of one mole of an element or compound. The molar mass for carbon, for instance, is
12 grams. The number is often found on a Periodic Table, in addition to the proton number for
the element. 121, 138, 241, 379, 380
© 2021 T. W. Murphy, Jr.; Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Lic.; Freely available at:
https://escholarship.org/uc/energy_ambitions.