91探花

Physics of Sustainability

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Speaker(s): David Hafemeister

Sustainability movement will be defined and described. The physics part of sustainability is driven by energy use and environmental impacts. Recent data on energy and climate change will be displayed. This will be followed by back-of-the-envelope calculations, which prove the following:

  • King Hubbert鈥檚 equations for oil production are modified, using supply and demand economics. The additional production from higher prices will not be sufficient to stave off the problems of 鈥減eak oil.鈥� The impact of energy regulations on cars and appliances greatly exceeds the impact of market forces.
  • Energy savings from enhanced鈥揺nd鈥搖se efficiency has been far greater than new production from alternative energy and this will continue to be so. Using a scale model for buildings, it is shown that it is possible (with appropriate investment) to heat a house in Wisconsin with energy of two鈥損ersons fighting. To make energy decisions on an economic basis for refrigerators and solar collectors, it is more meaningful to use the cost鈥搊f鈥揷onserved energy as compared to payback periods.
  • Most of the progress on energy since the oil embargo has been on the 鈥渄emand鈥� side and not the 鈥渟upply side.鈥� Combined cycle gas turbine power鈥損lants now obtain 60% efficiency and release less than 40% of a coal plant鈥檚 CO2.
  • More carbon dioxide raises the Earth鈥檚 surface temperature; the concept of little or no rise in temperature is not logical. Several models will quantify this.

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Colloquium

Junior and senior physics majors attend our biweekly colloquium series, held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. in Shanahan B460. The talks are open to all students and to the public, and are frequently attended by scientists from the other Claremont Colleges, Cal Poly Pomona, and others. The series features speakers from a broad range of institutions and fields of physics.