CHAPTER 5 RADIOACTIVITY AROUND US

RADIO-ACTIVITY
Radio-Activity (German title: Radio-Aktivitt) is the fifth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in October 1975. Unlike Kraftwerk's later albums, which featured language-specific lyrics, only the titles differ between the English and German editions. A concept album, Radio-Activity is bilingual, featuring lyrics in both languages. Radioactivity refers to the particles which are emitted from nuclei as a result of nuclear instability. Because the nucleus experiences the intense conflict between the two strongest forces in nature, it should not be surprising that there are many nuclear isotopes which are unstable and emit some kind of radiation. The most common types of radiation are called alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, but there are several other varieties of radioactive decay. Radioactive decay rates are normally stated in terms of their half-lives, and the half-life of a given nuclear species is related to its radiation risk. The different types of radioactivity lead to different decay paths which transmute the nuclei into other chemical elements. Examining the amounts of the decay products makes possible radioactive dating. Radiation from nuclear sources is distributed equally in all directions, obeying the inverse square law. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL ISOTOPES Nuclear reactions which occur spontaneously are said to be an example of natural radioactivity. There are three naturally occurring radioactive series among the elements in the periodic table. These are known as the uranium series, the actinium series and the thorium series, each named after the element at which the series start (except the actinium series which starts with a different uranium isotope). Each series decays through a number of unstable nuclei by means of alpha and beta emmission, until each series end on a different stable istope of lead. Not all nuclear reactions are spontaneous. These reactions occur when stable isotopes are bombarded with particles such as neutrons. This method of inducing a nuclear reaction to proceed is termed artificial radioactivity. This meant new nuclear reactions, which wouldn't have been viewed spontaneously, could now be observed. Since about 1940, a set of new elements with atomic numbers over 92 (the atomic number of the heaviest naturally occurring element, Uranium) have been artificially made. They are called the transuranium elements.

CHANGING IDENTITIES: NUCLEAR TRANSFORMATION Radioactivity refers to the particles which are emitted from nuclei as a result of nuclear instability. Because the nucleus experiences the intense conflict between the two strongest forces in nature, it should not be surprising that there are many nuclear isotopes which are unstable and emit some kind of radiation. The most common types of radiation are called alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, but there are several other varieties of radioactive decay. Radioactive decay rates are normally stated in terms of their half-lives, and the half-life of a given nuclear species is related to its radiation risk. The different types of radioactivity lead to different decay paths which transmute the nuclei into other chemical elements. Examining the amounts of the decay products makes possible radioactive dating. Radiation from nuclear sources is distributed equally in all directions, obeying the inverse square law. LIVING WITH RADIATION Ionizing radiation is everywhere in the natural environment but it wasnt until the closing years of the 19th Century that its existence was discovered by Becquerel. Uses for this new phenomenon grew rapidly after Roentgen produced the first x-rays and the Curies isolated the intensely radioactive element radium and established its unusual properties. By the middle of the 20th Century, man-made radioactive elements and radioactive isotopes not found in nature had been synthesized and incorporated in numerous commercial products. Electronic devices that could produce penetrating rays just like those from radioactive substances were also increasing in number and availability. The many ordinary and remarkable uses of radiation in military, commercial, and consumer products over the past century are chronicled here in an effort to preserve this vanishing history. While many of these items are no longer made, they occasionally turn up in attics, yard sales, war surplus bins, antique shows, estate sales, electronic flea markets, and on the Internet. Other items are as near as a grocery shelf or garden store. Some of these products still contain substantial quantities of radium or other radioactive nuclides. Such sources have caused injuries and death, and must be treated with extreme care. If a radioactive source breaks, leaks or is opened, it can spread contamination that is invisible to the eye and that can go unnoticed. In such an event, state authorities should be contacted immediately. Owning radioactive materials presents other problems as well. In some states devices such as the Revigator must be registered (e.g., Michigan) or licensed (e.g., Illinois), and this may require an annual fee. Various rules and regulations governing radioactive materials and a list of state radiation control program directors has been provided for quick reference. A number of different units for measuring radiation are in current use and found throughout this text. Best known is the Roentgen, a measure of gamma ray (x-ray)

energy. Gamma-ray and x-ray exposures are often expressed in terms of milliRoentgens per hour (mR/hr). The dose or amount of radiation actually absorbed in a gram of tissue, however, is expressed in units of radiation absorbed dose (rads). A Roentgen equivalent man (rem) is the amount of absorbed radiation when adjusted for relative harmfulness compared to ordinary x-rays. Radiation workers including miners, nuclear power plant personnel, and nuclear medicine technicians, are permitted wholebody doses up to 5000 millirem per year (mrem/year). The recommended whole-body limit for non-radiation workers is a tenth of this, or 500 mrem per year. For the types of devices described here, it can be assumed that a one hour exposure at 1 milliRoentgen per hour produces a dose no greater than 1 millirad (mrad) or 1 millirem (mrem). The actual dose is likely to be much less because most of the items are small and radiation intensity falls off rapidly with distance. A small source producing 100 mR/hr at one inch, for example, produces less than 1 mR/hr at one foot. Nevertheless, radiation risk is cumulative and efforts should be made to minimize exposure from all sources by distance, shielding, and duration of exposure. PEOPLE AND IONIZING RADIATION Ionizing (or ionising) radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually can liberate an electron from an atom or molecule, producing ions, which are atoms or molecules with a net electric charge. These tend to be especially chemically reactive, and the reactivity produces the high biological damage caused per unit of energy of ionizing radiation. The degree and nature of such ionization depends on the energy and type of the individual particles composing the radiation, and less upon the radiation particle number. For example, if a non-ionizing type of radiation does not heat a bulk substance up to ionization temperature, even an intense flood of particles or particle-waves will not cause ionization. In such cases, each particle or particle-wave does not carry enough individual energy to be ionizing (an example is a high-powered radio or microwave beam, which will not ionize if it does not cause high temperatures). Conversely, even very low-intensity radiation will ionize materials at low temperatures and powers, if the individual particles of radiation carry enough energy (e.g., a low-power X-ray beam). In general, particles or photons with energies above about 10 electron volts (eV) are considered ionizing, no matter what their intensity. This particle-energy occurs in electromagnetic waves in the extreme ultraviolet and beyond, to include all of (X-rays and gamma rays). Free neutrons are able to cause many nuclear reactions in a variety of substances no matter their energy, because in many substances they give rise to high-energy nuclear reactions, and these (or their products) liberate enough energy to cause ionization. For this reason, free neutrons are normally considered effectively ionizing radiation, at any energy (see neutron radiation). Examples of other ionizing particles are alpha particles, beta particles, and cosmic rays. The radiations cause ionization due to the kinetic energy involved in the production of the individual particles, which inevitably exceed 10 eV, and commonly exceed thousands or even millions of eV of energy.

The ability of an electromagnetic wave (photons) to ionize an atom or molecule depends on its frequency, which determines the energy of its associated particle, the photon. Radiation on the high-frequency and short-wavelength end of the electromagnetic spectrumhigh-frequency ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma raysis ionizing due to the energy of such photons exceeding 10 eV. Lower-energy radiation, such as visible light, infrared, microwaves, and radio waves, are not ionizing.[1] The latter types of low-energy non-ionizing radiation may damage molecules, but the effect is generally indistinguishable from the effects of simple heating. Such heating does not produce free radicals until higher temperatures (for example, flame temperatures or "browning" temperatures, and above) are attained. In contrast, ionizing radiation may produce free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species, even at room temperatures and below. Free radical production is also a primary basis for the particular danger to biological systems of relatively small amounts of ionizing radiation that are far smaller than needed to produce significant heating. Free radicals easily damage DNA, and thus ionizing radiation may also directly damage DNA by ionizing or breaking DNA molecules. Among radiobiologists, there is a degree of overlap in regard between ionizing radiation, and the lower ultraviolet spectrum that contains a range of molecularly-damaging radiation that is not ionizing, but has somewhat similar biological effects. Although DNA is always susceptible to damage by ionizing radiation, DNA molecules may also be damaged by radiation carrying enough energy to excite certain molecular bonds to form thymine dimers (pyrimidine dimer)s. This energy is less than ionizing, but produces similar types of damage. The ultraviolet spectrum begins at about 3.1 eV (400 nm) at almost exactly the same energy level which can cause sunburn to unprotected skin, as a result of photoreactions in collagen, and (in the UV-B range) also in DNA. Thus, the entire ultraviolet spectrum is damaging to living cells as a result of electronic excitation in molecules which falls short of ionization. Because such damage is similar to ionizing radiation inasmuch as it is larger than is predictable from thermal considerations alone, it has effects similar to ionizing radiation, including the ability to cause skin cancer in relatively small doses. Ionizing radiation is ubiquitous in the environment, and comes from naturally occurring radioactive materials and cosmic rays. Common artificial sources are artificially produced radioisotopes, X-ray tubes and particle accelerators. Ionizing radiation is invisible and not directly detectable by human senses, so instruments such as Geiger counters are usually required to detect its presence. In some cases it may lead to secondary emission of visible light upon interaction with matter, such as in Cherenkov radiation and radioluminescence. It has many practical uses in medicine, research, construction, and other areas, but presents a health hazard if used improperly. Exposure to ionizing radiation causes damage to living tissue, and can result in mutation, radiation sickness, cancer,[2] and death.

RADIATION APPLICATIONS In public health care, radiation can be used to examine and treat patients. Examinations are X-ray or isotope examinations. In examinations or procedures that use radiation, care is taken to ensure that radiation exposure to the patient is kept to a minimum. In treating cancer, large doses of radiation are used to destroy diseased tissue. Read more about use of radiation in health care. In industry radiation is used in several ways. For example in quality control of materials, measuring the level of containers, or monitoring the thickness or consistency of paper. Radiation is also used in non-destructive testing. Read more about use of radiation in industry. Practical applications for non-ionising radiation are, among others, lasers, microwave ovens, solariums, mobile telephones, MRI devices in the medical field, and industrial heaters. Electricity generation The demand for energy increases with the world's booming population and expanding economy. We are consuming energy at a pace much faster than it can be replenished. Nuclear energy is one of the solutions to meet this ever increasing demand of energy. To date, there are about 440 commercial nuclear power reactors around the world, mainly relying on splitting, or fissioning, of uranium or plutonium nuclei. These reactors generate about 17% of the electricity world-wide. Medical applications Many of us are aware of the widespread use of radiation in the medical community. It can be used for diagnosis as well as therapy for a number of diseases. In diagnostic treatments, x-rays can provide images for identifying abnormal changes in body organs and tissues. With advanced imaging and computing technologies, a three dimensional picture or animation can be generated to facilitate the diagnostic treatment if radioisotopes are injected or ingested into the patient. The most widely used diagnostic radioisotope is technetium-99m which has a half-life of six hours and dose, technetium-99m allows sufficient time for the diagnosis process. Industrial and agricultural applications In indus in welds and metal castings. In addition, radiation is widely used in automatic quality control systems in production lines, such as to gauge fluid level in beverage cans or density of tobacco in cigarettes. It is also used to measure the thickness of electroplates and to eliminate static charges in industries.

CHAPTER 6 REACTORS AND NUCLEAR ENERGY

MASS DEFECT & BINDING ENERGY Careful measurements have shown that the mass of a particular atom is always slightly less than the sum of the masses of the individual neutrons, protons, and electrons of which the atom consists. The difference between the mass of the atom and the sum of the masses of its parts is called the mass defect (Dm). The mass defect can be calculated using Equation (1-1). In calculating the mass defect it is important to use the full accuracy of mass measurements because the difference in mass is small compared to the mass of the atom. Rounding off the masses of atoms and particles to three or four significant digits prior to the calculation will result in a calculated mass defect of zero. Mass defect can be calculated by using the equation below. Dm = [ Z(mp + me) + (A-Z)mn ] matom Binding energy is the mechanical energy required to disassemble a whole into separate parts. A bound system typically has a lower potential energy than its constituent parts; this is what keeps the system togetheroften this means that energy is released upon the creation of a bound state. The usual convention is that this corresponds to a positive binding energy. FISSION In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission refers to either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei), often producing free neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays), and releasing a very large amount of energy, even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay. The two nuclei produced are most often of comparable but slightly different sizes, typically with a mass ratio of products of about 3 to 2, for common fissile isotopes.[1][2] Most fissions are binary fissions (producing two charged fragments), but occasionally (2 to 4 times per 1000 events), three positively charged fragments are produced, in a ternary fission. The smallest of these fragments in ternary processes ranges in size from a proton to an argon nucleus. Fission as encountered in the modern world is usually a deliberately-produced manmade nuclear reaction induced by a neutron. It is less commonly encountered as a natural form of spontaneous radioactive decay (not requiring a neutron), occurring especially in very high-mass-number isotopes. The unpredictable composition of the products (which vary in a broad probabilistic and somewhat chaotic manner) distinguishes fission from purely quantum-tunnelling processes such as proton emission, alpha decay and cluster decay, which give the same products each time.

Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material where fission takes place). In order for fission to produce energy, the total binding energy of the resulting elements must be greater than that of the starting element. Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation because the resulting fragments are not the same element as the original atom. Nuclear fission produces energy for nuclear power and to drive the explosion of nuclear weapons. Both uses are possible because certain substances called nuclear fuels undergo fission when struck by fission neutrons, and in turn emit neutrons when they break apart. This makes possible a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction that releases energy at a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or at a very rapid uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon. The amount of free energy contained in nuclear fuel is millions of times the amount of free energy contained in a similar mass of chemical fuel such as gasoline, making nuclear fission a very dense source of energy. The products of nuclear fission, however, are on average far more radioactive than the heavy elements which are normally fissioned as fuel, and remain so for significant amounts of time, giving rise to a nuclear waste problem. Concerns over nuclear waste accumulation and over the destructive potential of nuclear weapons may counterbalance the desirable qualities of fission as an energy source, and give rise to ongoing political debate over nuclear power. THE POWER OF NUCLEAR REACTORS

Most nuclear electricity is generated using just two kinds of reactors which were developed in the 1950s and improved since. New designs are coming forward and some are in operation as the first generation reactors come to the end of their operating lives. Over 16% of the world's electricity is produced from nuclear energy, more than from all sources worldwide in 1960.

A nuclear reactor produces and controls the release of energy from splitting the atoms of certain elements. In a nuclear power reactor, the energy released is used as heat to make steam to generate electricity. (In a research reactor the main purpose is to utilise the actual neutrons produced in the core. In most naval reactors, steam drives a turbine directly for propulsion.) The principles for using nuclear power to produce electricity are the same for most types of reactor. The energy released from continuous fission of the atoms of the fuel is harnessed as heat in either a gas or water, and is used to produce steam. The steam is used to drive the turbines which produce electricity (as in most fossil fuel plants). In the world's first nuclear reactors about two billion years ago, the energy was not harnessed since these operated in rich uranium orebodies for a couple of million of

years, moderated by percolating rainwater. Those at Oklo in west Africa, each less than 100 kWt, consumed about six tonnes of that uranium. NATURAL NUCLEAR REACTOR A natural nuclear fission reactor is a uranium deposit where analysis of isotope ratios has shown that self-sustaining nuclear chain reactions have occurred. The existence of this phenomenon was discovered in 1972 at Oklo in Gabon, Africa, by French physicist Francis Perrin. The conditions under which a natural nuclear reactor could exist had been predicted in 1956 by Paul Kazuo Kuroda.[1] The conditions found were very similar to what was predicted. Oklo is the only known location for this in the world and consists of 16 sites at which self-sustaining nuclear fission reactions took place approximately 1.7 billion years ago, and ran for a few hundred thousand years, averaging 100 kW of power output during that time.

CHAPTER 7 ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

HOUSE WIRING Home wiring is wiring in domestic use such as houses and gardens. Home wiring is not something to fool around with. It is literally a life and death matter. Poor wiring can lead to personal injury and electrically caused fires, both of which you want to avoid at all costs. In order to ensure your home wiring is done correctly, there are a few basics that you need to be aware of. SIMPLE ELECTRIC CIRCUIT An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. The combination of components and wires allows various simple and complex operations to be performed: signals can be amplified, computations can be performed, and data can be moved from one place to another.[1] Circuits can be constructed of discrete components connected by individual pieces of wire, but today it is much more common to create interconnections by photolithographic techniques on a laminated substrate (a printed circuit board or PCB) and solder the components to these interconnections to create a finished circuit. In an Integrated Circuit or IC, the components and interconnections are formed on the same substrate, typically a semiconductor such as silicon or (less commonly) gallium arsenide.[2] Breadboards, perfboards or stripboards are common for testing new designs. They allow the designer to make quick changes to the circuit during development. An electronic circuit can usually be categorized as an analog circuit, a digital circuit or a mixed-signal circuit (a combination of analog circuits and digital circuits). ELECTRIC CURRENT Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.[1] This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire. It can also be carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both ions and electrons in a plasma.[2]

The SI unit for measuring the rate of flow of electric charge is the ampere, which is charge flowing through some surface at the rate of one coulomb per second. Electric current is measured using an ammeter. Electric current is the rate of charge flow past a given point in an electric circuit, measured in Coulombs/second which is named Amperes. In most DC electric circuits, it can be assumed that the resistance to current flow is a constant so that the current in the circuit is related to voltage and resistance by Ohm's law. The standard abbreviations for the units are 1 A = 1C/s. VOLTAGE Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension (denoted V and measured in volts, or joules per coulomb) is the potential difference between two points or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points.[1] Voltage is equal to the work which would have to be done, per unit charge, against a static electric field to move the charge between two points. A voltage may represent either a source of energy (electromotive force), or it may represent lost or stored energy (potential drop). A voltmeter can be used to measure the voltage (or potential difference) between two points in a system; usually a common reference potential such as the ground of the system is used as one of the points. Voltage can be caused by static electric fields, by electric current through a magnetic field, by time-varying magnetic fields, or a combination of all three. CONDUCTORS OR INSULATORS Do you remember the copper atom that we discussed? Do you remember how its valence shell had an electron that could easily be shared between other atoms? Copper is considered to be a conductor because it conducts the electron current or flow of electrons fairly easily. Most metals are considered to be good conductors of electrical current. Copper is just one of the more popular materials that is used for conductors. Other materials that are sometimes used as conductors are silver, gold, and aluminum. Copper is still the most popular material used for wires because it is a very good conductor of electrical current and it is fairly inexpensive when compared to gold and silver. Aluminum and most other metals do not conduct electricity quite as good as copper. Insulators are materials that have just the opposite effect on the flow of electrons. They do not let electrons flow very easily from one atom to another. Insulators are materials whose atoms have tightly bound electrons. These electrons are not free to roam around and be shared by neighboring atoms. Insulators are used to protect us from the dangerous effects of electricity flowing through conductors. Sometimes the voltage in an electrical circuit can be quite high and dangerous. If the voltage is high enough, electric current can be made to flow through even materials that are generally not considered to be good conductors. Our bodies will conduct electricity and you may have experienced this when you received an electrical shock. Generally, electricity flowing through the body is not pleasant and can cause injuries. The function of our heart can be disrupted by a strong electrical shock and the current can cause burns. Therefore, we need to shield our bodies from the conductors that carry electricity. The rubbery coating on wires is an insulating material that shields

us from the conductor inside. Look at any lamp cord and you will see the insulator. If you see the conductor, it is probably time to replace the cord. OHM'S LAW Ohm's law states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the potential difference across the two points. Introducing the constant of proportionality, the resistance,[1] one arrives at the usual mathematical equation that describes this relationship:[2]

where I is the current through the conductor in units of amperes, V is the potential difference measured across the conductor in units of volts, and R is the resistance of the conductor in units of ohms. More specifically, Ohm's law states that the R in this relation is constant, independent of the current.[3] The law was named after the German physicist Georg Ohm, who, in a treatise published in 1827, described measurements of applied voltage and current through simple electrical circuits containing various lengths of wire. He presented a slightly more complex equation than the one above (see History section below) to explain his experimental results. The above equation is the modern form of Ohm's law. In physics, the term Ohm's law is also used to refer to various generalizations of the law originally formulated by Ohm. The simplest example of this is: where J is the current density at a given location in a resistive material, E is the electric field at that location, and is a material dependent parameter called the conductivity. This reformulation of Ohm's law is due to Gustav Kirchhoff.[4] FACTORS AFFECTING RESISTANCE OF A WIRE i) Cross-sectional area of the wire. Reistance is inversely proportional to the area of cross-section of the wire. More the cross-sectional area, easier it is for the electrons and hence charge to flow and hence more current and less resistance. ii) Length of the wire. Resistance is directly proportional to the length of the wire. More the length of the wire, longer is the distance to be covered by the electrons and hence charge thereby reducing current and increasing resistance. iii) Temperature. Higher temperature results in higher resistance. Higher the temperature, faster will be the oscillations of the ions in the conductor and the moving electrons will have to undergo more number of collisions per unit length of the wire, thereby reducing time between successive collisions and reducing drift velocity of the electrons which results in less current and higher resistance iv)

Material of the conductor Some materials like metals are better conductors of electricity and offer less resistance to the flow of current. Non-metals have poor conductivity. Conductivity of charge in metals is mainly due to the free electrons in the outer orbits of metals.

CHAPTER 8 THE BENEFITS AND DANGERS OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY

POWER RATING OF APPLIANCES AVERAGE WATTAGE REQUIREMENT (AMPS X VOLTS = WATTS) Running Wattage Household Requirements Dishwasher Electric Fry Pan Microwave Oven 625 watts Refrigerator or Freezer Automatic Washer Lights Radio Television - Color Desktop Laptop Monitor Fax Printer 700 1300 625 700 1150 as indicated on bulb 50 to 200 300 600 to 800 200 to 250 200 to 250 600 to 800 400 to 600

Additional Wattage Required For Starting 1400 0 800 2200 2300 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

HEAT GENERATED IN APPLIANCES Appliances like electric stove are one of the heating appliances which contain heating elements like resistors. The resistors convert electrical energy to light and thermal energy. The amount of heat produce from the electricity depends on the resistance of the material.

Examples of appliances which use electricity to produce thermal energy are electric rice cooker, stove, toasters, dryers, flatirons and percolators. The heating appliances has a heating element like resistors. The resistors convert electrical energy into light and thermal energy . It depends on the resistance of material if how much heat can be produced from electricity. Those devices who produced heat, the Nichrome wire is an element who is responsible for heating . when we say nichrome wire , it is an alloy with the combination of nickel and chromium . It has two reasons why it serves as a good producer of heat. First, Nichrome wire has greater resistivity than the other element like cooper.Second,it does not rust even at high temperature. therefore, when electrons collide with atoms, they make the latter turn and vibrate even faster. In that case more thermal energy may produced. SHORT CIRCUIT A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) in an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path, often where essentially no (or a very low) electrical impedance is encountered. The electrical opposite of a short circuit is an "open circuit", which is an infinite resistance between two nodes. It is common to misuse "short circuit" to describe any electrical malfunction, regardless of the actual problem. CIRCUIT PROTECTORS Circuit protectors come in two different forms and their job is to protect the electrical circuit from damage from electricity. RCDs' (Residual Current Device) protects by monitoring the flow of electricity through the phase (live) and neutral wire. If it detects an imbalance it will cut off the power supply to that circuit. Fuses, and more commonly, circuit breakers, prevent too much electricity being drawn by the circuit. If the current drawn by the circuit is too much either the fuse will "blow" or the circuit breaker will trip and it will disconnect the power supply to that circuit. ELECTRIC ENERGY CONSUMPTION Electric energy consumption is the form of energy consumption that uses electric energy. Consumption of electric energy is measured by Wh (Watt x Hour):^).

1 Wh = 3600 joule = 859.8 calorie one 100 watt light bulbs consume 876,000 Wh (876 kWh) of energy in one year. Electric/Electronics devices consume electric energy to generate desired output(i.e. light, heat, kinetic etc.), while its operation some part of energy are consumed in unintended output. see Electrical efficiency In 2008, world total of electricity production and consumption was 20261TWh. 16816TWh(83%) of electric energy was consumed by final users. The difference of 3464TWh(17%)was consumed in the process of generating power and consumed as transmission loss. ENERGY SAVING Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources. An energy conservation act was passed in 2001.[clarification needed] Energy conservation can result in increased financial capital, environmental quality, national security, personal security, and human comfort.[citation needed] Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy choose to conserve energy to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. Industrial and commercial users can increase energy use efficiency to maximize profit. In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design or climatic design because, unlike active solar heating systems, it doesn't involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices. The key to designing a passive solar building is to best take advantage of the local climate. Elements to be considered include window placement and glazing type, thermal insulation, thermal mass, and shading. Passive solar design techniques can be applied most easily to new buildings, but existing buildings can be adapted or "retrofitted". ELECTRIC CURRENT AND THE HUMAN BODY The nerves can produce an electric current that can be transmitted. If muscles receive this current, called the action potential, they can transmit the current along the entire length of the muscle cell. Your skin can also produce an electric current, and this is often referred to as the galvanic skin response. ELECTRICAL HAZARDS AND SAFETY Reenergize, or shut off, all electrical equipment before you attempt to investigate or repair anything electrical. Make sure to shut off electrical equipment at the wall switch AND at the junction box to prevent the piece of equipment from being accidentally energized while you are working on it. Always use electrical tools that are in good condition without frayed or exposed wires.

Never work near an energized power line. Don appropriate protective equipment at all times.