Level 8: Power for a city¶
Energy and power · level 8 of 8 · rough age 17 and beyond (a guide for parents; anyone can start anywhere)
The last level goes to the nucleus. You see how a rover's radioisotope generator works and why it fades, how fission gets so much energy out of so little fuel, and what a reactor on Mars must do with its waste heat. Then you meet the limit on every heat engine, build an energy budget for a city of a thousand people, and choose how to power it.
| Lesson | You will be able to |
|---|---|
| Radioisotope power | Explain how an MMRTG makes electricity, and use half-life to find its power years later |
| Fission | Find the energy released by splitting uranium, and link it to \(E = mc^2\) |
| A reactor for Mars | Size a reactor's radiator, and use the inverse square law to place it |
| Heat engines | Use the Carnot limit, \(1 - T_c/T_h\), on Mars and on Earth |
| A city energy budget | Build an energy budget for a Mars city and size its power supply |
| Choosing power | Weigh solar, storage and nuclear power, and argue for a mix |
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