Energy — page 5 of 33

Energy terms

401. Broadband noise Noise that has a continuous spectrum, that is, energy is present over a wide range of frequencies.
402. Broadcast burn Controlled fire over the entire surface of a designated area.
403. Broker An agent who handles the public's orders to buy and sell securities, commodities or other property. A commission is generally charged for this service.
404. Brownfields Sites that are underutilized or not in active use, on land that is either contaminated or perceived as contaminated.
405. Browse Twigs, leaves, and young shoots of trees and shrubs that animals eat.
406. Bryophytes Plants of the phylum Bryophyta, including mosses, liverworts and hornworts, characterized by the lack of true roots, stems and leaves.
407. Bryozoan Aquatic colonial animals with branching, mossy or fan-like growth. They resemble corals but have more complex nervous, muscular, and digestive systems.
408. Buck To cut a log into smaller portions.
409. Buffer Zone A strip of land created to separate and protect one type of land use from another; for example, as a screen of planting or fencing to insulate the…
410. Build out The estimated extent of residential, commercial, and industrial development in a given geographic area; usually related to the upper limit of the…
411. Build-out capacity The maximum total percentage of development in a watershed; typically determined assuming current zoning holds indefinitely into the future.
412. Building Energy Ratio The space-conditioning load of a building.
413. Building Envelope The structural elements (walls, roof, floor, foundation) of a building that encloses conditioned space; the building shell.
414. Building Heat-Loss Factor A measure of the heating requirements of a building expressed in Btu per degree-day.
415. Building Orientation The relationship of a building to true south, as specified by the direction of its longest axis.
416. Building Overall Energy Loss Coefficient-Area Product The factor, when multiplied by the monthly degree-days, that yields the monthly space heating load.
417. Building Overall Heat Loss Rate The overall rate of heat loss from a building by means of transmission plus infiltration, expressed in Btu per hour, per degree temperature difference…
418. Built Environment The urban environment consisting of buildings, roads, fixtures, parks, and all other improvements that form the physical character of a city.
419. Bulb The transparent or opaque sphere in an electric light that the electric light transmits through.
420. Bulb Turbine A type of hydro turbine in which the entire generator is mounted inside the water passageway as an integral unit with the turbine.
421. Bulk Density The weight of a material per unit of volume compared to the weight of the same volume of water.
422. Bunchgrass A grass having a bunched growth form and lacking rhizomes.
423. Bureau of Land Management An agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior that is responsible for managing public lands.
424. Burner Capacity The maximum heat output (in Btu per hour) released by a burner with a stable flame and satisfactory combustion.
425. Burning Point The temperature at which a material ignites.
426. Burrow A hole made by an animal, usually for shelter or to move through by digging.
427. Bus A parallel circuit that connects the major components of a computer, allowing the transfer of electric impulses from one connected component to any other.
428. Bus (electrical) An electrical conductor that serves as a common connection for two or more electrical circuits; may be in the form of rigid bars or stranded conductors or…
429. Busbar The power conduit of an electric power plant; the starting point of the electric transmission system.
430. Busbar Cost The cost of producing electricity up to the point of the power plant busbar.
431. Butane A gas derived from natural gas. Used as a component of gasoline. Used in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for domestic and industrial applications.
432. Butanol or butyl alcohol An alcohol with the chemical formula CH3(CH2)3OH. It is formed during anaerobic fermentation using bacteria to convert the sugars to butanol and carbon…
433. Butt log The log taken from the base of a tree; often slightly irregular.
434. by-product Material, other than the principal product, generated as a consequence of an industrial process or as a breakdown product in a living system.
435. bypass A surgical procedure in which the doctor creates a new pathway for the flow of body fluids.
436. C unit (CCF) (CCF) One hundred cubic feet of solid wood. Used as a log measure or as a measure of solid wood content. 1 CCF contains typically 1.4 BDT.
437. Cable yarding A term used to describe a means of removing logs from the stump area to a landing or yarding area through use of an overhead system of winch-driven cables…
438. Cadastral survey system A survey that creates, marks, defines, retraces, or re-establishes the boundaries and subdivisions of the public land of the United States.
439. Cadmium (Cd) A chemical element used in making certain types of solar cells and batteries.
440. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) A polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic material.
441. Cage Where the casino cashier is located.
442. Cairn A mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker.
443. Calcareous Of, containing, or like calcite (calcium carbonate).
444. Caldera A large, usually circular depression at the summit of a volcano, formed when magma is erupted from a shallow underground magma reservoir.
445. Caliche A sedimentary deposit, commonly made of calcium carbonate, and formed from the leaching of minerals from the top layers of soil.
446. California Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) (CAAQS) A legal limit that specifies the maximum level and time of exposure in the outdoor air for a given air pollutant and which is protective of human health…
447. Calorie (KA-luh-ree) A measurement of the energy content of food. The body needs calories as to perform its functions, such as breathing, circulating the blood…
448. Calorific Value The heat liberated by the combustion of a unit quantity of a fuel under specific conditions; measured in calories.
449. cambium (pl.: cambia) A one or two cells thick layer of plant meristematic tissue, between the xylem and phloem tissues, which gives rise to secondary tissues…
450. Cancer (KAN-ser) A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread to other parts of the…
451. Candela The luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 × 1012 hertz and that has a radiant…
452. Candidate species See threatened, endangered and sensitive species.
453. Candle Power The illuminating power of a standard candle employed as a unit for determining the illuminating quality of an illuminant.
454. Cap A cap is a ceiling, or the highest level to which something can go. For example, an interest rate cap limits the amount by which an interest rate can be…
455. Capability The maximum load that a generating unit, power plant, or other electrical apparatus can carry under specified conditions for a given period of time…
456. Capability Margin The difference between net electrical system capability and system maximum load requirements (peak load); the margin of capability available to provide…
457. Capacitance A measure of the electrical charge of a capacitor consisting of two plates separated by an insulating material.
458. Capacitor An electrical device that adjusts the leading current of an applied alternating current to balance the lag of the circuit to provide a high power factor.
459. Capacity Your ability to make your mortgage payments on time. This depends on your income and income stability (job history and security), your assets and savings…
460. Capacity (Condensing Unit) The refrigerating effect in Btu/h produced by the difference in total enthalpy between a refrigerant liquid leaving the unit and the total enthalpy of the…
461. Capacity (Effective, of a motor) The maximum load that a motor is capable of supplying.
462. Capacity (Heating, of a material) The amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of a given mass of a substance by one degree Celsius.
463. Capacity factor The ratio of the average load on (or power output of) a generating unit or system to the capacity rating of the unit or system over a specified period of…
464. Capacity margin The amount of capacity above planned peak system demand available to provide for scheduled maintenance, emergency outages, system operating requirements…
465. Capacity markets A market for the trading of capacity credits (the ability to produce electricity in the market area during a defined period) usually between parties…
466. Capital cost The total investment needed to complete a project and bring it to a commercially operable status. The cost of construction of a new plant.
467. Capital Costs The amount of money needed to purchase equipment, buildings, tools, and other manufactured goods that can be used in production.
468. carbohydrate A sugar molecule. Carbohydrates can be small and simple (for example, glucose) or they can be large and complex (for example, polysaccharides such as…
469. Carbon Dioxide (KAR-bun dy-OK-side) A colorless, odorless gas. It is a waste product made by the body.
470. Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) (CO2) A product of combustion. The most common greenhouse gas.
471. carbon monoxide (KAR-bun muh-NOK-side) A poisonous gas that has no color or odor. It is given off by burning fuel (as in exhaust from cars or household heaters) and…
472. Carbon Monoxide (CO) (CO) A colorless, odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion. Carbon monoxide is poisonous if inhaled.
473. Carbon Sequestration The absorption and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Naturally-occurring in plants.
474. Carbon sink A reservoir that absorbs or takes up released carbon from another part of the carbon cycle.
475. Carbon Zinc Cell Battery A cell produces electric energy by the galvanic oxidation of carbon; commonly used in household appliances.
476. Carbonate rock Rocks (such as limestone or dolostone) that are composed primarily of minerals (such as calcite and dolomite) containing the carbonate ion (CO32-).
477. Carbonate-rock aquifer See Aquifer-carbonate rock
478. Carnot Cycle An ideal heat engine (conceived by Sadi Carnot) in which the sequence of operations forming the working cycle consists of isothermal expansion, adiabatic…
479. Carrying capacity The theoretical maximum weight of fish that can be maintained in a pond without depleting the food supply.
480. Cascade aeration Aeration of an effluent stream through the action of falling water.
481. catalyst A substance that promotes a chemical reaction by lowering the activation energy of a chemical reaction, but which itself remains unaltered at the end of…
482. Catalytic Converter An air pollution control device that removes organic contaminants by oxidizing them into carbon dioxide and water through a chemical reaction using a…
483. Catch Basin A conventional structure for the capture of stormwater utilized in streets and parking areas.
484. Catchment basin A topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet; a watershed.
485. Cathedral Ceiling/Roof A type of ceiling and roof assembly that has no attic.
486. Cathode The negative pole or electrode of an electrolytic cell, vacuum tube, etc., where electrons enter (current leaves) the system; the opposite of an anode.
487. Cathode Disconnect Ballast An electromagnetic ballast that disconnects a lamp's electrode heating circuit once is has started; often called "low frequency electronic" ballasts.
488. Cathodic Protection A method of preventing oxidation of the exposed metal in structures by imposing between the structure and the ground a small electrical voltage.
489. Caulking A material used to seal areas of potential air leakage into or out of a building envelope.
490. cavity (KA-vih-tee) A hollow area or hole. It may describe a body cavity (such as the space within the abdomen) or a hole in a tooth caused by decay.
491. Ceiling If there is an upper limit, or cap, on the interest rate you can be charged on an adjustable-rate loan, it's known as a ceiling.
492. Ceiling Fan A mechanical device used for air circulation and to provide cooling.
493. Cell The fundamental level of structural organization in complex organisms. Eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus (with chromosome s) and cytoplasm with the…
494. Cell (solar) See Photovoltaic (PV) cell
495. Cellulase Enzyme catalysing the breakdown of cellulose.
496. Cellulose (SEL-yoo-lose) A building block of plant cells and fiber. Cellulose cannot be digested by people, and is used to add bulk to the diet.
497. Cellulose Insulation A type of insulation composed of waste newspaper, cardboard, or other forms of waste paper.
498. Cenozoic An era of geologic time from the beginning of the Tertiary period (65 million years ago) to the present. Its name is from the Greek and it means "new life.
499. Census block Census blocks are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Census and are the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates data.
500. Census block groups Geographic entities consisting of groups of individual census blocks. Census blocks are grouped together so that they contain between 250 and 550 housing…