The Physics of Energy

Catalog description

Explore the profound connection between physics, energy use, and our changing climate. This course delves into the fundamental principles governing climate change and human energy use. We will cover how the greenhouse effect is governed by the solar spectrum, electromagnetic radiation and absorption, molecular dynamics, energy balance, atmospheric composition, and feedback loops. We will discuss the physics of energy production (fossil fuels, nuclear, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal), electrical transmission, and storage (especially pumped hydroelectric and batteries). You will gain a quantitative understanding of energy sources, their potential, and the challenges of efficient energy transformation, transmission, and storage. This course can serve as a stand-alone course or as a complement to courses that teach engineering or that more explicitly address broader societal issues. This course is for you if you have taken high school or higher physics, you are curious about the scientific bases of climate change and energy production, and you want to understand and discuss the trade-offs between different energy sources in a first-year seminar.