physics

Power Hungry

Power Hungry is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Power Hungry rather than just read about it. In short: Power Hungry: The Myths of "Green" Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future is a book by Robert Bryce about energy, mainly from a United States perspective. It was published in 2010 by PublicAffairs.

Key takeaways

Power Hungry belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Power Hungry to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Power Hungry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Power Hungry: The Myths of "Green" Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future is a book by Robert Bryce about energy, mainly from a United States perspective. It was published in 2010 by PublicAffairs. A short essay based on the book was released as an op-ed by the author in The Washington Post.

Synopsis As in his earlier book Gusher of Lies (which was about the idea of energy independence), Bryce argues that the United States needs to continue to use large amounts of fossil fuels including imported oil. However he does contemplate ways in which reliance on fossil fuels might be reduced:

Energy efficiency: Bryce claims that the United States' record in improving energy efficiency puts it in the top three of the developed countries, and he explains the relatively high per capita energy consumption by arguing that the country is not "addicted to oil", as stated by George W. Bush, but addicted to prosperity. The use of nuclear power Bryce argues that some renewable sources, such as wind farms, are not truly green and that carbon capture and storage will not work and will prove to be an expensive mistake.

Reception Trevor Butterworth writing in the Wall Street Journal praised Power Hungry as a "brutal, brilliant exploration" of the quest for green energy. William Tucker writing for The American Spectator said that Power Hungry is filled with little tidbits that "make endlessly fascinating reading. For instance, In 1971 we consumed twice as much energy from natural gas as from coal, but coal made a comeback under Carter and overtook natural gas in 1986". Roger A. Pielke, Jr. wrote on his blog, "Bryce's book is generally well-written and well-argued, if sprawling and at times more pastiche than systematic argument. His book has three parts. The first surveys our demand for energy and why it is inevitably going to increase. The second seeks to dispel a slew of "myths" about green energy—13 myths in all".

See also Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron

References

External links Author's Home Page

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Power Hungry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Power Hungry claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Power Hungry before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Power Hungry ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Power Hungry

In research: Power Hungry appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Power Hungry in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Power Hungry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010 English-language non-fiction books, 2010 in the environment, 2010 non-fiction books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Power Hungry outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Power Hungry in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Power Hungry means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Power Hungry out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Power Hungry in simple terms?

Power Hungry: The Myths of "Green" Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future is a book by Robert Bryce about energy, mainly from a United States perspective. It was published in 2010 by PublicAffairs.

Why does Power Hungry matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Power Hungry?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Power Hungry.