Energy flow diagram
By Nick Touran, Ph.D., P.E., 2020-06-03 , Reading time: Less than 1 minute
This diagram roughly shows the origin of energy we can use to help us do stuff.
Most items are individually clickable to give you more info (mostly Wikipedia links).
UPDATE: This was remixed by @OperadorNuclear really well.
graph TD
big["Big bang"] --> Protons[(Protons)] --> Stars[("Ancient stars
(nuclear fusion)")]
click Stars "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion"
click big "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang"
Stars --> stellar["Stellar
nucleosynthesis"]
click stellar "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesis"
stellar --> iron[(Elements lighter
than Iron)]
iron --> fusion(["Nuclear fusion
on Earth (TBD)"]) -.-> Electricity((Energy))
click fusion "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_power"
style fusion stroke:#f66,stroke-dasharray: 5, 5
supernova --> cooling["Residual cooling"] --> geo
supernova --> Uranium
Stars --> supernova["Supernova
nucleosynthesis"]
click supernova "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_nucleosynthesis"
Stars --> ssys[(Solar system
dynamics)]
ssys --> Tidal([Tidal]) --> Electricity
click Tidal "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power"
click ssys "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System"
Protons --> Sun[("Our Sun
(nuclear fusion)")]--> srad["Solar radiation"]
click Protons "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton"
click Sun "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun"
click srad "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight"
srad --> solar(["Solar PV"])
click solar "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_system"
srad --> uneven["Uneven heating"] --> pressure["Pressure gradients"] --> Wind([Wind])
click pressure "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_gradient"
solar --> Electricity
Wind --> Electricity
click Wind "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind"
fission --> fp[(Fission products)]
click fission "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission"
click fp "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission_product"
fission --> Electricity
srad --> Evaporation --> Rain[(Rain)] --> hydro([Hydropower]) --> Electricity
click hydro "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropower"
click Rain "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain"
click Evaporation "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporation"
srad --> Photosynthesis --> Plants[(Organic matter)]
Plants --> Biofuel[(Biofuel)] --> Combustion --> Electricity
Plants --> Decay --> Fossil[("Fossil fuel
(oil, coal, gas)")] --> Combustion
click Photosynthesis "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis"
click Decay "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel#Origin"
click Fossil "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel"
click Biofuel "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel"
click Combustion "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion"
click Plants "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_matter"
iron --> |K-40| decayheat
Uranium --> decayheat["Radioactive decay heat"]
decayheat --> geo([Geothermal])
click decayheat "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_internal_heat_budget#Radiogenic_heat"
geo --> Electricity
click geo "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy"
Uranium[("Uranium &
Thorium")] --> fission(["Nuclear fission"])
""
Electricity -->quality[("Improved quality of life")]
click Electricity "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy"
click quality "https://www.researchgate.net/figure/HDI-vs-electricity-consumption-2-40-46_fig4_315794998"
Combustion --> airp[(Air pollution)]
click airp "http://www9.who.int/airpollution/en/"
Combustion --> co2[("CO₂ emissions")]
co2 --> warming[(Climate change)]
airp --> lung[(Lung diseases)]
click co2 "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas#Anthropogenic_greenhouse_gases"
click lung "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_disease"
click warming "https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/"
You can download this as a jpg here.