The Science of Energy: Resources and Power Explained

by Michael E. Wysession

Energy is, without a doubt, the very foundation of the universe. It's the engine that powers life and fuels the evolution of human civilization.

To better put into perspective the various issues surrounding energy in the 21st century, you need to understand the essential science behind how energy works. And you need a reliable source whose focus is on giving you the facts you need to form your own educated opinions.

In the 24 riveting lectures of The Science of Resources and Power Explained, expert geophysicist Professor Wysession presents an unbiased investigation into the energy sources that power our world. With clear and easy-to-follow explanations that make scientific and mathematical concepts approachable and understandable, this course is a marvelous window into the inner workings of energy that will keep you constantly engaged. You'll examine a wide portfolio of energy sources, how these sources work, the engineering marvels that adapt them to human needs, the economic and environmental consequences of using them, and more. Whatever exciting changes await us in the coming decades (from food production to public transportation to industrial manufacturing), they'll most certainly require lots of power. For this reason and many more, this course imparts essential information for any well-informed citizen of the world - whether you're powering a major city or simply turning on the light.

The world-spanning civilizations that we have built rely on a vast, dependable, and lasting supply of energy. The choices we make have profound consequences for how the world will continue to develop. Get the facts you need to choose well.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Physics, Technology, Engineering, Economics

200 pages, Audiobook

Published March 16, 2016

About the author

Prof. Michael Edward Wysession is a member of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, USA, and author of numerous science textbooks published by Pearson Education and Prentice Hall.

Wysession earned his B.Sc. from Brown University in 1980 and his Ph.D. at Northwestern University in 1991, and has been on the faculty at Washington University since then. His research has focused on using seismic waves to identify the composition and structure of Earth's mantle, with special focus on the boundary between the mantle and core. In 1996, Wysession created one of the first maps of the structure of Earth's core-mantle boundary, and in 1999, he created the first accurate computer-generated animation of the way seismic waves propagate through Earth's mantle. An example of his research was the identification with Jesse Lawrence of the lower mantle Beijing Anomaly. Wysession is chair of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored Earth Science Literacy Initiative, leading a research community-based effort that created a concise document of what all citizens should know about Earth science. He has been active for many years with the leadership of IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology), and has served as Chair for the past four years of the Education and Outreach Program, working to advance global awareness of earthquakes and seismology. Wysession also helped to create the NSF program on Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics, and is an editor of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, published by the American Geophysical Union.

Wysession is the lead author of Prentice Hall's high school physical science book Physical Science: Concepts in Action, and writer of their high school Earth Science and middle school Earth science Science Explorer books. He is also a co-author of Pearson's new K-8 national science program, Interactive Science. Wysession is co-author of a leading undergraduate/graduate geophysics textbook with Seth Stein entitled Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure. Wysession is author of the best-selling video course How the Earth Works with The Teaching Company, which consists of 48 30-minute lectures on all aspects of Earth science. He is the designer and instructor of a course entitled Earth, Moon, and Mars that he presents at different NASA locations. Wysession is a frequent lecturer internationally at teacher organization meetings (such as the National Science Teachers Association), science centers, and other venues.

Reviews

[Eero Ringmäe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a reasonably short, straightforward, structured overview of how much energy we use, how do we produce it and how is this likely to change in the future - in view of climate change, increase in population, etc. The professor speaks eloquently and structures the lectures well.

I liked that the lecturer took a neutral view (e.g. when talking about coal as energy source) and did not shy away from slightly controversial topics like global population growth and energy need.

The main drawback for me was that it's the pretty basic information. So, if you've read or listened pretty much any energy related material, it will feel pretty familiar and similar.

My recommendation is - if you've only just become interested in energy / climate topics - this is a good intro to the science of energy. If you've already read any other source, you might consider skipping this and going for something more in-depth.

[Nilesh Jasani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science of Energy is an excellent course on a massive collection of factoids. The subject matter is not interesting except for those interested. As a result, the course's factual tone could soon prove unbearably drab to any wandering listener. A goldmine of information for the keen and an energy dictionary for the rest.

[Chris Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot and enjoyed listening to this! This was very relaxed and conversational, felt less like an audiobook and more like a series of unedited lectures, which seems to be what they're going for. Actually having a good time listening to things like this, and retaining the information more than I expected. This one was slightly different than what I hoped it'd be, but it was still intriguing. Looking forward to more of these Great Courses audiobooks!

[Javier Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

listened to this while working over the past month. pretty fun little audiobook that gives u a fundamental base of knowledge over a lot of topics. he even goes a little deeper than you'd expect in certain topics relating to geophysics. i know a rock nerd when I hear one. reminds me of lectures from my old professor.

a little outdated but not bad if you got a good deal on audible. I got it for like 3 bones.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Science of Energy: Resources and Power Explained by Michael Wysession is a very capable survey on the science of energy and energy production. His lectures are direct, informative, and accessible. His framework is largely clear, and it was informative. Lots of science, some highlighting of policy questions and prospects. Overall, it acted as a nice companion to my recent energy security kick. Its probably the best primer on energy science that I've come across thus far.

Which isn't that much, but its still a decent amount by this point.

90/100

[Tara Small · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information about all methods of energy production, conservation, usage and efficiency. Most of it was a generic level of knowledge (if you've spent any time in college courses, or watching related documentaries). There were some important items I did learn though, like the planned or needed energy load for humanity and methods to make that possible. The decreasing water table (across the World) and the reasons being our farming methods and water waste. How hydrocarbons will eventually run out and the need to cut our dependency on them; while unfortunately coal burning and oil are currently our most consistent and dependable method to power all of our houses without outages - so it's near impossible.
I think everyone should read or listen to these lectures just to get an idea of both the enormity and impossibility of humanity's future in energy technology.

[Joseph L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/sZtzXW6qqt0

[Jacob Gubbrud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good information, but also amazing how quickly much of it has become outdated since 2016!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good review of energy up to 2015. Some portions of certain lectures could have been better researched, but the main points are solid.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the Great Courses recently became free on Audible so I thought I would check this out. Needless to say, Energy is a key part of our daily lives, understanding the science behind it should be basic human knowledge; however, I am not so proud to say my knowledge is near to zero. I planned to rectify that with this course.

As always, it's a collection of 24 lectures; this one was delivered by Michael Wysession, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University.

The main criticism with this course is that it's very centred on the USA, with most discussions surrounding US topography and examples, and with analysis of the differences between US states. I have no interest in the USA, so it was a little tiring hearing so much about it. More generalisable knowledge would have been useful with global examples.

The first 5 chapters were a little too general to be useful. The fossil fuels section was more interesting and better composed than the other sections. Digging through the nuclear section was like finding a needle in a haystack for understandable and interesting information. The final chapters were the most practical, offering solid advice for saving energy, although it was still quite focused on the US context.

Overall, it was well delivered and quite thorough in general areas. I learned a lot more than I expected and feel a lot more comfortable on the topic.

What did this book leave me with?

Fossil Fuels
• Coal is fossilised swamp reeds and mosses. It develops through increasing carbon and depth, from surface compaction at peat (20% C), lignite (25-35% C), bituminous coal (60-80% C), to anthracite (92-98%C). The lower carbon, the more "dirty" the burn is. Electricity plants burn bituminous coal. Additional heat and pressure are needed for anthracite, normally from tectonic plate collision.
• The extraction of fossil fuels runs parallel to its cost of extraction relative to its sale price. The easy deposits are the lowest costs of extraction and maintain their low cost; when the easy deposits are depleted, it becomes a balancing game between its global price and the cost of extraction.
• Ultra-supercritical plants (40%) are more efficient than subcritical plants (25%) at burning coal, related to its operating temp (higher temps are more efficient). Higher efficiencies (>45%) are possible with gasification (syngas) by heating the fuel with limited oxygen. In cogeneration plants, the waste heat is used for heating homes, increasing net efficiency (90%).
• Transportation accounts for 1/3 of the cost of coal. Mostly it is extracted by stripping the surface layer of land (strip mining), which is very destructive, even with reclamation. Coal fly ash slurry ponds can also be highly radioactive and toxic and can leak.
• Coal is commonly used in iron smelting by coking: baking the coal in limited oxygen; when burned with iron ore, the carbon removes the oxygen from the ore leaving pure iron.
• Natural gas is mostly methane (a hydrocarbon). It is easier to transport via pipeline by compressing it into a liquid; therefore, it is commonly replacing coal for electricity generation.
• Around half of the world's oil reserves are in the middle east. Unconventional oil reserves include low-grade oil sands and oil shales, which require strip mining and steam extraction.
• Fracking extracts natural gas by digging horizontally into shale gas reserves and pumping millions of litres of toxic water into the well to increase pressure to force the natural gas out. If the toxic water is released into drinking water aquifers, it can, and often does, contaminate drinking water. They also cause earthquakes by lubricating tectonic plates.

Nuclear Power
• Uranium is mined in the form of uraninite (pitchblende), autunite, or torbernite, found through gamma-ray detection, often in very small quantities. It is then concentrated into yellowcake often through "leaching" (dissolving the ore in acid).
• If a pressurized heavy-water reactor is used, the yellowcake is smelted directly into uranium dioxide pitchblende.
• If a light-water reactor is used, the uranium oxide is enriched. Enrichment involves creating uranium hexafluoride gas by adding fluorine and then separating the non-fissile (doesn't split when hit with a neutron) uranium 238 into fissile uranium 235 in a centrifuge. Calcium is then added, which makes calcium fluoride salt and leaves behind the pure uranium 235 pellets, which are then assembled into fuel rods.
• 0.1% of the mass of the uranium nuclei convert to energy, 90% of which release energy instantly, and another 6.5% are released over 1 to 6 years from cascading beta decay. Fuel rods must remain in the reactor until the energy is depleted. The remaining 3.5% are antineutrinos that don't add heat.
• As the spent fuel rods have unfissioned U235 as well as U238 and U233, it remains dangerous and highly radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years and must be disposed of. This involves cooling them in deep water pools for 10 to 20 years before disposing of them as nuclear waste.

Solar Energy
• Photovoltaic solar panels utilise the photoelectric effect, where electromagnetic radiation (light) strikes a metal causes a spike in energy and the release of an electron. Current efficiencies are around 20% for commercial panels.
• Concentrator photovoltaics concentrate the sunlight using prisms of lenses and mirrors increasing efficiency; however, they need to be cooled to maintain high efficiency (around 40%). Solar cells lose efficiency if they get too hot. Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collectors are most efficient as they capture waste heat from the cooling fluids (at little like cogeneration plants).
• Solar Stirling engines concentrate sunlight using a parabolic dish of mirrors to heat air, which drives a piston, driving a turbine, generating efficiencies near to 40%; however, they're less popular than photovoltaics as they're more expensive to build and maintain.

Wind Power
• Turbines work on the Bernoulli principle: The shape of the rotor creates a negative air pressure differential on its opposite side forcing the rotors to turn toward the lower air pressure. The right shape of the rotors is therefore essential for maximising rotational force.
• Vertical-axis turbines do not need to be oriented in relation to the wind, but they generate less force, limiting their application and size. Horizontal-axis turbines are the ones most seen and generate more efficient force, but they must be oriented toward the wind, requiring stable directional winds.
• Wind blows from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. These high and low pressures are driven by differences in temperature caused by sunlight (so clear days create higher air pressure and clouds lower air pressure). Rotors are set high off the ground to reduce variability in gusts.
• General wind effects: Coriolis force: due to the earth's rotation, the wind blows more right in the northern hemisphere and left in the south; winter winds are stronger than summer winds; topography, such as mountains, blocks or channels wind; topographical roughness (such as forests) dampens wind; and shorelines have the strongest and most consistent winds.

Hydroelectric Power
• Hydroelectric power is impacted by gravitational force and rainfall. Water falls through a channel (the penstock), turning the turbine.
• Rainfall is impacted by the hydrologic cycle: sunlight, water vapour evaporation, cloud formation and rain; and the Coriolis effect, where 6 cells of air circulation due to heating at the equator push clouds toward cooling air masses.

Biofuels
• Seen as biodiesel, bioethanol, and solid and gas biofuels. Made through either fermentation, using microbes to excrete alcohol or anaerobic digestion to excrete carbon dioxide and methane.
• Gasification: By heating biomass in an oxygen-deprived environment, you can create Co2 and hydrogen gas (syngas); what's left is a highly energy-dense fuel.
• Biodiesel is made from the transesterification of plant oils by combining them with methanol, using a catalyst. These are then blended with diesel hydrocarbons to reduce dependence on fossil fuels (usually 5%). Similarly, ethanol is made through fermenting plants, often corn, and blending it with gasoline (around 10%), reducing dependence on foreign oil.

Energy Storage
• The most common form of gravitational potential energy storage is pumped hydropower: a lower reservoir is pumped to a higher reservoir using surplus energy; when needed, the upper reservoir is released through a turbine, re-entering the lower reservoir (70-85% efficiency).
• Gravitational potential energy can also be exploited for storage by pushing weighted train cars uphill, or by raising and lowering weights on a pully system.
• A common but low-efficiency mechanical energy storage is to use compressed air: excess energy pumps air into a chamber, compressing it. The air is then released to turn a turbine.
• Kinetic energy can be stored by using excess energy to spin a flywheel in a vacuum on mag-lev bearings to high RPMs, which is maintained through inertia; energy retrieval involves decelerating the flywheel by converting the motion into electricity (85–95% efficiency).
• Thermal energy can be stored by concentrating solar power to melt salt or heat oil in a thermally insulated environment; this can then be used to heat water to turn a turbine. The same can be done to liquify a gas through cooling, which then heats back into a gas and rotates a turbine.
• Batteries: an electric reaction takes place (commonly oxidation) forcing the electrons to move from the negative (anode) to the positive (cathode) and vice versa (in recharging). They are highly efficient (80-90%) and allow for many discharge-recharge cycles.
• Chemical storage: Hydrogen can be isolated from water through steam reformation and water electrolysis, compressed and transported. In a hydrogen fuel cell, the compressed hydrogen is combined with oxygen to make water, which drives an electric current. However, it is highly inefficient due to losses at multiple steps (hydrolysis, compression, transportation, reverse hydrolysis, and energy production: a total of 12-21%).

[Shana Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important set of lectures. Professor Wysession is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable, but the lectures still felt to be a bit of a slog. The information is dense, the particulars of energy complicated, and the breadth of energy sources covered is extensive. From physics and geology, to politics and ecology, there is a lot of information. A good primer on energy and the many issues (from policy considerations to human needs) surrounding its past, current, and future forms, production, and usage.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Energy is fascinating. It affects all parts of modern life, and it is endlessly complex. We are also living at a time of rapid change in the energy industry as renewable energy finally becomes cheaper than fossil fuels. I learned a lot about energy storage, fossil fuels, and how energy is used. (Did you know: an electric car full of people is more energy efficient than a bicycle!) This book also went into the perfect amount of detail for a person of casual interest like myself.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really dug this course. Author did an excellent job going over how technologies work and the pros and cons of each energy source without being prejudice. All the opportunities gave me an energy-boner.

(First "The Great Course" I've listened to.)

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This class was an excellent overview of how humans use energy and the advantages and disadvantages of the many sources we use. Science, economics, international relations, and policy were all covered in a nice, seemingly-balanced way.

[Andy Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was easily the best of the Great Courses that I have taken. Professor Wysession is a tour de force and an absolute expert in all things energy. This course touched every base including bases I never before considered rounding. What did the course cover? It covered the types of energy, how those types work, how they are converted to energy; the cost of such conversion, the hidden costs of such conversion, the amounts of energy produced from each source, the efficiency of the use of each source, the availability of each source, future sources, political issues, ways to conserve energy, the efficacy of renewable energy, the pros and and cons of the use of each type (including their impact on climate change). And on and on. What were my biggest takeaways? Using coal and biofuels are wildly less efficient than I thought. I never realized how much energy is lost to heat in the process of converting these sources to electricity. I was amazed about how inefficient the combination of incandescent light bulbs and coal generated power are; something like 98.5% energy loss. I had no idea how much water is used in the generation of power - the biggest use of water in industry, if not in everything. I learned what a watt is in ordinary terms: it is the same as lifting 1 apple 1 meter per second. I learned how much of everything it takes to create 1 gigawatt of energy (which is needed to power 800,000 households). Ready? 9,000 tons of coal per day (or 100 90 ton rail cars per day), 240 million cubic feet of natural gas, 40,000 barrels of oil (one full supertanker), 130 giant wind turbines over 400 square kms, 200 square kms of solar panels in New England or 50 sq kms in Arizona, or, wait for it, 3 kg of uranium. It costs $100 per year to run 1 100 watt incandescent bulb (I'm guessing 24/7) as opposed to 1/5th that for LEDs. We could generate all US power needs using 4% of the total land area in the US, and there is enough land in New Mexico;s deserts for the job. I learned that it will be possible to charge electric cars with solar and then to sell the power to the grid and/or to use an electric car to power your house. I learned that wind turbines work like airplane wings - the wind does not force the blades around but rather the blades turn due to the difference in distance the air has to travel above and below the blades. Norway generates all of its power from hydro power (or was in Finland?). And on and on. Professor Wysession delivered this info in a politically neutral manner, providing the objective pros and cons of each energy source. But, of course, being a scientist, he explained in really understandable terms the causes and effects of global warming. Finally, as this course was delivered 10+ years ago, he was optimistic by the bipartisan approach to tackling environmental issues. I wonder what he thinks today given the actions of the right in the past 8 years? There is definitely less cause for optimism and issues of the environment and energy have never been more important. Anyway, what a great course, which was, unbelievably, available for free on Audible.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good refresher from my mechanical engineering coursework. My only critique is the focus on battery storage and waving it off as if it were a goal that were just over the horizon. It's not. Battery storage is currently a crushing limitation. For nearly every watt of solar and wind energy produced in developed countries, backup power must be online and available so that the power network does not crash. When listing out his costs per watt at the end of the lectures, he included carbon capture for coal, but neglected to list either the storage costs or the backup generation costs required to actually make solar and wind economically viable. He also waved off the costs of his "smart grid" suggestions.

I wish more emphasis were put on nuclear power as an option. I believe he gave it a fair assessment, though he quoted dodgy statistics on Chernobyl deaths. With nuclear you get carbon free energy and you don't need to have backup plants on standby to pick up the slack when the wind stops blowing and the sun is hidden by clouds. Instead of cover the earth with solar panels and wind farms, as well as natural gas fired power plants, you build much more compact nuclear plants, and you're done. Nearly free energy forever.

The energy industry needs to be more realistic about the storage issue. It can't be waved off forever.

[Brian Remer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is loaded with interesting information backed by real data. I listened to a series of lectures on Audible to hear this content. The speaker is somewhat stumbling and pedantic at times - in other words, a professor - but he comes off as truly knowledgeable and passionate about his subject. This is not a polished narrator and I think the topic benefits from that fact.

I felt the author did a very good job of exploring multiple viewpoints and arguments: economical, environmental, political, and historical. He doesn't stop at the simple science of energy production and consumption but covers the related subjects of land use and long term effects of the resulting pollution and resource usage. He even managed to analyze the energy used by someone biking instead of driving *based on what source of energy the biker uses for fuel* - if that biker got their calories from an all-beef diet, taking into account the crop land use and calories needed by the steer to grow, it actually used less energy in total to drive an efficient car on that errand than to ride the bike. He says that jokingly and ensures us that for any normal diet the bike is far superior, but the math actually makes sense.
My favorite part: wind turbines do indeed kill birds, but not nearly as much as cell phone towers, and it truly pales by comparison to birds killed each year by pet cats.

[Christine]

This is an amazing book that makes complex science relatively comprehensible. Scientific explanations about energy effects, types of energy, how the effect the environment as a whole have always been relatively unavailable to the laymen population as a whole, or trapped under so much scientific jargon they were nigh unto incomprehensible. This book brings these concepts down to a relatable level while explaining the jargon. I enjoyed listening about the possibilities of resources, how finite they are in real terms, as well as understanding that they might not have a huge impact, other than financially, in our lifetime but they will in that of our grandchildren. In these strange times I also find it interesting in regards to the lack of travel currently occurring around the world. Most planes have been grounded and fewer cars/buses/trains are on the road decreasing the pollution. Also, I wonder how this is going to effect my jobs, if some of my work can be realistically accomplished from home...probably not however. Much of what I do relies on in person interactions.
If you are looking for some explanations about why oil/coal/natural gas are finite energy sources, what is this global warming everyone is on about, where does electricity come from, then this is a great book.

[Jeff Keehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say the lectures were exciting but I did learn some interesting facts. Did you know that you expend less energy driving your car than you do walking? That's because American's eat an animal diet which is energy intensive (and wasteful). Did you know that in a dozen years we will have another billion human beings on the planet? Did you know that fracking was given an exemption from the Clean Water Act? (Can you guess who paid for that?) Did you know that the true cost of coal is about 4 times what the plants pay for it? (The American taxpayer makes up the difference.) Did you know that we get enough energy from the sun in one hour to supply the entire planet with enough energy for a year? Did you know that nuclear waste is being stockpiled at the reactors because we still haven't figured out what to do with it? It's a mostly depressing picture that Wysession paints. But he does a good job of simply supplying the facts without letting politics get in the way.

[Sumit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent tour of all modern energy sources, from fossil fuels to nuclear to wind and solar, with a fantastic range of perspectives: the underlying physics of the energy source, the mechanisms by which the energy can be harvested at scale, the economics of obtaining/using the source including externalities not included in the costs (such as pollution/contamination in many cases), as well as the geopolitical context and how the attitudes towards the source vary across the globe.

I'm far from an expert in energy, and as a result I found the book fascinating; I learned a great deal about our current energy usage as well as the inevitable move towards green power. There were many aspects where I thought I had an informed opinion about a particular source and its economics, but in many of those cases I was wrong; there are a lot of fun hidden surprises in how different sources work across all of the aforementioned sources.

[Isabelle Duchaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession: I read a lot and I like science, but the memories of my grade 10 science class are fading - fast. I picked up this course because it promised an accessible overview, and IT DELIVERED!

Topics covered:

- how nuclear fusion works, and where do we put our leftover nuclear waste?
- why burning coal is super bad for you (also how inefficient it is)
- how solar energy can power the future once we figure out how to store it and if it's not too cloudy
- impact of lower meat consumption on global climate change
- how air conditioners work

And so much more - transportation, heating, electricity, tidal power - and the politics of all of these. Highly recommend to people working in policy fields who lack.... science and claim to know stuff.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent series of lectures providing as unbiased a view as you will find. Not only does he provide the fundamentals of each type, he explains the advantages and disadvantages of each.

I greatly appreciated the way he would pull everything back into common units. This made it much easier to compare apples with apples. He does this not only with actual energy units, but with area-equivalents of land, furthering your ability to make comparisons.

As with so many others in this series, as well as the Modern Scholar, the choice of lecturers is excellent.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of where all of our energy comes from.

Very scientific, spoke to me as an engineer, lots of math and equations.

Very balanced in terms of politics and drawing conclusions.

98% of the stored energy is in water (dams).

Covers fossil fuels, solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear in great depth.

Americans use less energy per capita than we did two decades ago.

Confirmed my non-concern for the future. As fossil fuels become more scarce and expensive, other forms of energy will be more cost effective and available.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad coverage of the sources of energy, the impact of fossil fuels on the environment and some of the potential futures for the world energy supply. When the instructor sticks to facts and the operating aspects of energy systems he's pretty good. Unfortunately he drifts into opinion and political views a bit too often. Not enough to seriously hurt the course, but more than a scientist/engineer should. If he'd stuck to a Joe Friday approach (Just the facts, Ma'am) this would have been a great course. as it is, I give it a three.

[Freshta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly good lecture and overview of Energy industry.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about history, politics and economics of Energy besides the different sources of Energy and the science of it.
Scientific explanations are very simple and basic.
Overall it contains a good review material but it can get dry and too basic for anyone who is in scientific field or already in energy sector.

[Nathaniel Teeter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting lecture series. I work for a power company and this information was correct to what I already knew, and eye opening for what I didn't. The lecturer paints a dismal, yet hopeful, picture of energy demands and sources. The ratios for efficiency and how much energy comes from each source were fascinating, as were the pros/ cons for each source. The instructor did an excellent job remaining neutral regarding ethical issues as well.

[Neil Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed treatment, in the form of a series of lectures, of how energy drives society, with very accessible science of each kind of energy source that society depended or currently depends upon, or may embrace in the future. Lots of facts and figures. Strives to be apolitical, but treats climate change seriously with good discussion of where there is consensus, and the implications of the choices in front of us all.

[Mohammed alkindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

light reading for a subject that you think you know it all and find out that the mixture of topics such us engineering, science, economics, politics, environment, even religion makes it not so straight forward to digest. if you want to appreciate all the above and how they interplay with each other, this is the book to read.

[Dave Rautela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly entertaining course.

Prof. Wysession gives an excellent take on different energy resource types. This lecture series explained the science behind each energy type and the role it played in forming our civilization, how it’s meeting our current demands and what the future holds for our energy consumption needs.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy lectures from Dr. Wysession and this course was no exception. Even with the absence of video, it is still extremely easy to follow. The only small thing I would change is to include more of the statistics in the pdf, as it can be hard to sometimes write it all down. Otherwise, very engaging, interesting, and comprehensible lectures.