Solar power, also called solar electricity, is the process of changing sunlight into electricity. This can happen directly through photovoltaics (PV), which use solar panels, or indirectly through concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses mirrors or lenses to focus sunlight. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to turn light into an electric current.
Solar energy is the light and heat from the Sun that can be used with different methods, such as making electricity, heating water, or designing buildings to use sunlight. It is a key type of renewable energy. The ways to use solar energy are often divided into two types: passive solar and active solar.
Renewable energy, also called green energy, is energy made from natural resources that are replaced over time. The most common types of renewable energy are solar energy, wind power, and hydropower. Bioenergy and geothermal power are also important in some countries.
Janine M. Benyus (born 1958) is an American writer, expert in helping businesses innovate, and author. After writing books about wildlife and animal behavior, she created the term Biomimicry to describe a method of solving problems by copying designs found in nature.
Janine M. Benyus (born 1958) is an American writer, expert in innovation, and author. After writing books about wildlife and animal behavior, she created the term Biomimicry to describe using ideas from nature to solve problems.
Biomimetics, also called biomimicry, is the process of copying natural models, systems, and parts to solve difficult human challenges. The words “biomimetics” and “biomimicry” come from Ancient Greek: bios (life) and mīmēsis (imitation), meaning to copy life. A similar area of study is called bionics.
Biomimetics, also called biomimicry, is the process of copying natural models, systems, and elements to solve difficult human challenges. The words “biomimetics” and “biomimicry” come from Ancient Greek: bios, meaning life, and mīmēsis, meaning imitation, from mīmeisthai, to imitate, and mimos, an actor. Together, these words describe the act of copying life.
Green chemistry, which is similar to sustainable chemistry and circular chemistry, is a field of chemistry and chemical engineering that works to create products and processes that reduce or stop the use and creation of harmful materials. While environmental chemistry studies how polluting chemicals affect the natural world, green chemistry focuses on how chemical processes affect the environment. This includes using fewer resources that cannot be replaced and finding ways to stop pollution before it happens.
Life cycle assessment (LCA), also called life cycle analysis, is a method used to study the environmental effects of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life. For example, when examining a manufactured product, environmental impacts are studied from the time raw materials are extracted and processed (the beginning), through the product’s creation, transportation, and use, to the recycling or final disposal of its materials (the end). An LCA study carefully lists the energy and materials needed at every stage of a product’s supply chain and value chain.
Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of how materials and energy move through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be seen as a network of processes that take resources from Earth and change them into by-products, products, and services that people buy and use. Industrial ecology focuses on measuring these material flows and recording the processes that support modern society.