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Introduction
Energy (from Ancient Greek ἐνέργεια (enérgeia) 'activity') is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the capacity to do work and in the form of heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed. The unit of measurement for energy in the International System of Units (SI) is the joule (J).
Forms of energy include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the potential energy stored by an object (for instance due to its position in a field), the elastic energy stored in a solid object, chemical energy associated with chemical reactions, the radiant energy carried by electromagnetic radiation, the internal energy contained within a thermodynamic system, and rest energy associated with an object's rest mass. These are not mutually exclusive.
All living organisms constantly take in and release energy. The Earth's climate and ecosystems processes are driven primarily by radiant energy from the Sun. (Full article...)
Selected article
Manresa Island is a former island located in Norwalk, Connecticut, at the mouth of Norwalk Harbor in the Long Island Sound. The earliest name for the landform was Boutons Island, which dates to 1664. By the 19th century, the island had been purchased by John H. Keyser, who lived there and cultivated rare vegetation. He built a causeway in 1860, connecting the island to the mainland of South Norwalk. This gave rise to the name Keyser Island, which was sold to the Jesuits toward the end of the century.
In the 1950s, Connecticut Light & Power constructed a coal-fired power plant on the land. Over the years, the company filled in much of the tidal flats surrounding the island with coal ash, greatly increasing the size of the island from its original 23 acres (9.3 hectares) to 144 acres (58 hectares), and leading to significant ground pollution. In 1972, the plant was converted to burn fuel oil, and an oil spill occurred, damaging the surrounding environment. The plant was sold to NRG Energy in 1999, and was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, leading to its permanent closure in 2013. A portion of the land today is an undeveloped and ecologically important marine habitat. (Full article...)
Selected image
Photo credit: Johnson Space Center/NASA
Tropical cyclones feed on the heat released when moist air rises and the water vapor condenses.
Did you know?
- Samuel Andrews (1836–1904) was an English-born chemist and inventor whose request for investment capital to build an oil refinery in 1862 led to a partnership with John D. Rockefeller and the formation of the Standard Oil companies?
- Golar Spirit (pictured) is the world's first floating storage and regasification vessel converted from a LNG carrier?
- The Rockies Express Pipeline, currently under construction, will be one of the largest natural gas pipelines ever built in North America?
- Syncrude Canada Ltd. is the world's largest producer of synthetic crude oil from oil sands?
- During World War II, Australia produced almost 500,000 barrels of shale oil by operating the Nevada–Texas–Utah type of oil-shale retorts?
- The Sangtuda 1 Hydroelectric Power Plant is expected to provide up to 12% of the total energy output of Tajikistan?
Selected biography
In 1831, Faraday began his great series of experiments in which he discovered electromagnetic induction. He established that a changing magnetic field produces an electric field, a relation mathematically modelled by Faraday's law. Faraday later used the principle to construct the electric dynamo, the ancestor of modern power generators. He went on to investigate the fundamental nature of electricity, concluding in 1839 that, contrary to opinions at the time, only a single "electricity" exists, and the changing values of quantity and intensity (voltage and charge) would produce different groups of phenomena.
Some historians refer to Faraday as the best experimentalist in the history of science. Despite this his mathematical ability did not extend so far as trigonometry or any but the simplest algebra. He nevertheless possessed the ability to present his ideas in clear and simple language. During his lifetime, Faraday rejected a knighthood and twice refused to become President of the Royal Society.
In the news
- 11 August 2026 – Syria and weapons of mass destruction
- The Syrian government confirms their cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to purge nuclear materials at a hidden facility following a report by Axios on such plan after an agreement between Israel, Syria, and the United States. Conversely, Israel threatens to bombard the site again if the materials remain, and to prevent access to the site. (AA) (Axios) (The Jerusalem Post)
- 7 August 2026 – International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, United States and the Russo-Ukrainian war
- The United States Senate votes 86–11 to pass a bill imposing sanctions on Russia's energy revenues, financial institutions, officials, and shadow fleet, while authorizing tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. The legislation will head to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote. (Reuters)
- 30 July 2026 – Middle Eastern crisis
- Data shows that the QatarEnergy-controlled LNG tanker Al Areesh exited the Strait of Hormuz, becoming the first LNG vessel from Qatar visible on ship-tracking data to do so since July 11, when Al Hamra exited the strait from Das Island, United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
- 28 July 2026 – International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, United States and the Russo-Ukrainian war
- The United States Senate votes 86–12 to advance legislation imposing sanctions on Russia's energy revenues, financial institutions, officials, and shadow fleet, while authorizing tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. (Politico) (Kyiv Post)
- 20 July 2026 – Canada–United States relations
- U.S. president Donald Trump signs another executive order imposing 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods, including USMCA-covered products, citing alleged discriminatory trade practices. The duties take effect in 30 days, with exemptions for energy, potash, and products under sector-specific tariffs. (AFP via Vanguard) (CBC News)
General images
Nuclear waste flasks generated by the United States during the Cold War are stored underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. The facility is seen as a potential demonstration for storing spent fuel from civilian reactors. (from Nuclear power)
Motor oil (from Oil refinery)
The US has been counting on private industry to lead in fusion power, while more recently China's government has made fusion a national priority. In 2025, $2.1 billion was poured into a single Chinese state-owned fusion company, an amount two and a half times the U.S. Energy Department's annual fusion budget. (from Nuclear power)
Merowe Dam in Sudan. Hydroelectric power stations that use dams submerge large areas of land due to the requirement of a reservoir. These changes to land color or albedo, alongside certain projects that concurrently submerge rainforests, can in these specific cases result in the global warming impact, or equivalent life-cycle greenhouse gases of hydroelectricity projects, to potentially exceed that of coal power stations. (from Hydroelectricity)
Proportions of the isotopes uranium-238 (blue) and uranium-235 (red) found in natural uranium and in enriched uranium for different applications. Light water reactors use 3–5% enriched uranium, while CANDU reactors work with natural uranium. (from Nuclear power)
For cooking, electric induction stoves are one of the most energy-efficient and safest options. (from Sustainable energy)
A woman in rural Rajasthan, India, collects firewood. The use of wood and other polluting fuels for cooking causes millions of deaths each year from indoor and outdoor air pollution. (from Sustainable energy)
Yearly geothermal generation by continent (from Geothermal power)
The map shows the commercial nuclear power plants in the world. Research reactors are not considered nuclear power plants.Operating reactors, building new reactorsOperating reactors, planning new buildNo reactors, building new reactorsNo reactors, new in planningOperating reactors, stableOperating reactors, decided on phase-outCivil nuclear power is illegalNo reactors(from Nuclear power)
Oil refinery in Iran (from Oil refinery)
Cracks at the historic Town Hall of Staufen im Breisgau presumed due to damage from geothermal drilling (from Geothermal power)
The multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG), used in several space missions such as the Curiosity Mars rover (from Nuclear power)
Since 1985, the proportion of electricity generated from low-carbon sources has increased only slightly. Advances in deploying renewables have been mostly offset by declining shares of nuclear power. (from Sustainable energy)
Schematic flow diagram of a typical natural gas processing plant (from Natural gas)
The outdoor section of a heat pump. In contrast to oil and gas boilers, they use electricity and are highly efficient. As such, electrification of heating can significantly reduce emissions. (from Sustainable energy)
Nuclear fuel assemblies being inspected before entering a pressurized water reactor in the United States (from Nuclear power)
Map of solar resources from World bank (from Solar power)
World map showing where people without access to electricity lived in 2016—mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent (from Sustainable energy)
Benefitting from favorable policies and declining costs of modules, photovoltaic solar installation has grown consistently. In 2023, China added 60% of the world's new capacity. (from Solar power)
Russia was a key oil and gas supplier to Europe (map from 2013). This changed with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (from Energy policy)
The Warwick Castle water-powered generator house, used for the generation of electricity for the castle from 1894 until 1940 (from Hydroelectricity)
Several countries and the European Union have committed to dates for all new cars to be zero-emissions vehicles. (from Sustainable energy)
Crude oil is separated into fractions by fractional distillation. The fractions at the top of the fractionating column have lower boiling points than the fractions at the bottom. The heavy bottom fractions are often cracked into lighter, more useful products. All of the fractions are processed further in other refining units. (from Oil refinery)
The first light bulbs ever lit by electricity generated by nuclear power at EBR-1 at Argonne National Laboratory-West (now the Idaho National Laboratory), December 20, 1951. (from Nuclear power)
Electricity production by source (from Solar power)
Geothermal generation by country, 2021 (from Geothermal power)
The location of shale gas compared to other types of gas deposits (from Natural gas)
Yearly solar generation by continent (from Solar power)
Seasonal cycle of capacity factors for wind and photovoltaics in Europe shown under idealized assumptions. The figure illustrates the balancing effects of wind and solar energy at the seasonal scale (Kaspar et al., 2019). (from Solar power)
A micro-hydro facility in Vietnam (from Hydroelectricity)
Typical composition of uranium dioxide fuel before and after approximately three years in the once-through nuclear fuel cycle of a LWR (from Nuclear power)
Part of the 354 MW Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) parabolic trough solar complex in northern San Bernardino County, California (from Solar power)
Electrification rates of different countries compared to OECD Europe (from Sustainable energy)
The Hoover Dam in the United States is a large conventional dammed-hydro facility, with an installed capacity of 2,080 MW. (from Hydroelectricity)
Manhole for domestic gas supply, London, UK (from Natural gas)
Measurement of the tailrace and forebay rates at the Limestone Generating Station in Manitoba, Canada (from Hydroelectricity)
Schematic flow diagram of a typical crude oil distillation unit as used in petroleum crude oil refineries (from Oil refinery)
Olkiluoto 3 under construction in 2009. It was the first EPR, a modernized PWR design, to start construction. (from Nuclear power)
Schematics of a grid-connected residential PV power system (from Solar power)
Survey respondents in the European Union and US considered investment in nuclear energy to be a higher priority than those in China, though all three favored renewable energy much more strongly than nuclear overall. (from Nuclear power)
Sample of kerosene (from Oil refinery)
The growth of solar PV on a semi-log scale since 1996 (from Solar power)
Part of the Senftenberg Solarpark, a solar photovoltaic power plant located on former open-pit mining areas close to the city of Senftenberg, in Eastern Germany. The 78 MW Phase 1 of the plant was completed within three months. (from Solar power)
Activity of spent UOx fuel in comparison to the activity of natural uranium ore over time (from Nuclear power)
Death rates per unit of electricity production for different energy sources (from Nuclear power)
Quotations
- "Breaking the dependence on oil is, in my view, a matter of political will. A consistent policy will turn obstacles into opportunities. To hide behind excuses of ignorance or economic considerations is not leading us to a sustainable future." – Mona Sahlin, 2006
- "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology." – George W. Bush, 2006
- "Energy independence [for India] has to be our nation's first and highest priority. We must be determined to achieve this within the next 25 years i.e. by the year 2030." – Abdul Kalam, 2005
- "Energy security is assuming a strategic significance once reserved for territorial security, and the global environmental challenges from energy production and use are amongst our most pressing." – John Howard, 2006
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