Why is energy difficult to harness?

Answer 1

Energy is difficult to harness because it requires complex systems to help in its harnessing. Solar energy is easy to harness because it is the most abundant form of energy on earth. Turning it to electricity is however the hardest past.

Answer 2

Energy transfer can be very efficient but there is always some heat loss. For example an electric convector in your home may appear to be 100 percent efficient, but what about the losses in the transmission line that comes all the way from the power plant? It is always difficult to avoid some heat escaping to the environment, and this heat is usually of low quality so it is no use for any purpose, or too difficult to collect.

Another example is your car, you are transferring energy from the fuel (gasoline) to provide mechanical force to propel the car. But about 60 percent of the fuel's energy of combustion is wasted through the radiator and the exhaust, so the heat transfer is only 40 percent efficient-and that is with an efficient modern engine. A modern fossil fuel power plant will achieve about the same efficiency, in this case low quality heat is rejected to the cooling water in the turbine condenser. This is not a case of engineers being profligate, these levels of efficiency have only been achieved by careful design and using the best materials available.

Answer 3

Thermal energy is used in all Internal , as well as in External (old steam engines) , Combustion Engines. That makes thermal energy one of the most usual forms of energy people use. So, from this point it is not hard to use themal energy.

Thermal energy has a maximum percetage that can be tranformed into useful work and this percentage can never be 100%. This maximum percentage is described by the Carnot formula.

Answer 4

Energy can be difficult to harness due to various factors such as the unpredictability of natural energy sources like wind and solar, the high cost of developing and implementing energy technologies, and the challenges of storing and transmitting energy efficiently. Additionally, the dependence on finite resources and the impact of energy production on the environment can also complicate efforts to harness energy effectively.