revision cards

• new technologies used to produce more environmentally friendly and sustainable designs.
• e.g public buses introduced in china have electric engins powered by super capacitors. thiese use one tenth of the energy of a diesal-powered bus.
• e.g bioplastics. which will reduce the need to drill for oil. disposable carrier bags are being designed to be biodegradable, meaning less will be sent to landfill sites.

• makes product better in some way.
• new material or manufacturing technologies often result in the improvement of products or the development of new ones. 
• e.g smaet materials. like quantum tunnelling composite (QTC). this is a flexable polymer that become a conductor when squeezed, used for membrane switches in phones. 

• new technologies can be created doesnt mean they should be. ethical implications should be considered.
• nanotechnology could have big imact on healthcare but some think that we should not be placing artificial components into the human body. 

non renewable energy sources are sources that will ventually run out. the main examples are fossil fuels and nuclear fuel.

Fossil fuels

• formed from the remains of dead organisms over a very long period of time
• burnt to create steam, which turns turbines and hen drives a generator that produce electricity.
• burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which can contribute to globa warming 
• they will eventually run out.

Nuclear fuel

• nuclear reactor creates steam to turn turbines and drive a motor.
• nuclear fission controls the heat of the reactor. 
• making great use of fossil fuels means that there is less need to burn fssil fuels
• although accidents are rare they can result in radioactive material being release into the enviromemnt, which can cause health problems for plant and animals in the surrondings 
• stricted procedues for disposal

Solar

• use solar energy by collecting and converting light form the sun into electric current.
• will not run out for billions of years, so endless supply.
• not waste products or greenhouse gases emitted. 
• produce less electricity when there is less sunlight, they produce not electricity at night.
• installation and maintenance cast can be hig. 

Wind

• turbines can drive the generators, these are turned by the wind.
• the amount of electricity depends on the amount and strength of the wind.
• no waste products.
• wind turbines are noisy and impact the look of the environment.

hydro

• water is held in a reservoir and when it is realesed it turnes a turbine which will then generate electricity. 
• floods large areas of land and destroys habbitats

Transfering

• once it has been genrrated it must be transferred to its place of use.
• transmitted using the national grid.
• transmitted through cables at high voltage to minimise engery loss
• high voltages are very dangerous and are kept up high to keep out of reach from animals/humans.
• step up transformers are used to increase the voltage and Step down transformers are used to reduce the voltage and lower the levels ready for use in home. 

Storing Energy 

• sometimes energy will not be used straightaway and must therefore be stored unitl it is needed
• batteries, super capacitors and fuel cells are all methods of achieving this.

• Reduce - how can the amount of materials be used in the product be reduced? Is the product itself necessary?

• Rethink - How can the product be changed so that it is less harmful for the environment?can a better way to solve the problem be found?

• Refuse - should the product be produced if it is not sustainably deigned? is the packaging necessary or can it be removed?

• Recycle -  is it made using recycled materials? Can the materials be recylced once the product is no longer useful?

• Reuse - could the product be used in a idfferent way once its current use has expired? could it be disassembled so that its materials and componets could be reused in other proucts?

• Repair - is it easy to repair? Are replacement comonents readily available in case of failure?

• movement that works to help people in developing countries get a fair deal for the products that they produce.
• producers are made an agreed minimum rate for amny products, this gets paid even if global prices fall. 
• they also recieve fairtrade Premiun payment that they can use to invest in areas such as local education and healthcare.