W e’re climbing through a thick forest. My guide and I are in Nicaragua. It’s a long, tough climb to the top of the Mombacho Volcano. I’m here to study energy. Energy is the ability to do work


or to cause change. It’s a force that makes things happen. One of the amazing things


about energy is that it cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change form. Energy comes in many forms. For example, heat and light are two forms of energy. I use energy to climb this volcano. Te energy I needed came from eating food. Today, I’m looking for a special type of energy.


How Energy Works What I’m looking for is called geothermal energy. Tat’s a form of heat energy that comes from inside Earth. My job is to see if heat from the


volcanoes here can be changed into electrical energy. Electrical energy could then power peoples’ homes and businesses.


4 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


I record all my data, take notes, and make sketches of what I find.


Looking for Energy We keep climbing until I find what I’m looking for. Ahead, I see a field of fumaroles. A fumarole is a hot, chimney-like opening in the ground. You can find them near volcanoes. Tey give off steam and gases. Tey give off geothermal energy. I use a special camera that can


take pictures of heat and record temperatures. Te steam from these fumaroles is hot, but not that hot. Tough Mombacho is definitely giving off energy, I want to see how much energy other volcanoes give off. I move on to the Masaya Volcano.


Tis is one of Nicaragua’s biggest and most active volcanoes. I can see clouds of toxic fumes spewing out of its crater. My camera shows this volcano is putting out a lot of energy.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24