Download ALL TYPES OF ENERGY ARTICLE

GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY
GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY RESULTS FROM THE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE BY WHICH MATTER ATTRACTS OTHER MATTER. GRAVITATIONAL
ENERGY IS ENERGY IN THE ATTRACTION OF THE EARTH FOR AN OBJECT.
COMPARED TO OTHER FORCES SUCH AS ELECTRICAL FORCES, GRAVITATIONAL FORCES ARE VERY WEAK. IF YOU MAKE A FIST OUT
OF EACH OF YOUR HANDS AND HOLD THEM NEAR EACH OTHER IN FRONT OF YOU, THERE IS A GRAVITATIONAL FORCE BETWEEN THEM
THAT TRIES TO PULL THEM TOGETHER. BUT THIS FORCE IS VERY SMALL! (WHICH EXPLAINS WHY YOU DON'T FEEL YOUR HANDS
TRYING TO MOVE TOGETHER.) WHAT YOU DO FEEL IS THE WEIGHT OF EACH HAND. THE WEIGHT OF EACH HAND IS THE
GRAVITATIONAL FORCE BETWEEN IT AND THE EARTH. IF YOU RELAX YOUR ARMS THE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE BETWEEN THEM AND
THE EARTH CAUSES YOUR HANDS TO FALL IN YOUR LAP OR BY YOUR SIDE.
WHEN A GRAVITATIONAL FORCE ACTS ON A BODY AND CAUSES IT TO MOVE THROUGH SOME DISTANCE, THE FORMULA FOR
2
GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY IS MASS x 9.8 m/s x HEIGHT.
SIMPLE PROCESS THAT UTILIZES GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY IS WHAT MAKES ROLLER COASTERS FUN. AS THE COASTER IS PULLED UP
THE FIRST BIG HILL, ITS GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY IS INCREASED. WHEN THE COASTER REACHES THE FIRST HILL, THE GRAVITATIONAL
FORCE CAUSES IT TO ACCELERATE. EVERY HILL IN THE TRACK MUST BE SHORTER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE, UNLESS THE COASTER
IS AGAIN TOWED.
EXAMPLES OF GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY ARE AN HYDROELECTRIC DAM, COO COO CLOCK WEIGHTS AND THE FORMATION OF GALAXIES,
STARS, AND PLANETS.
ELASTIC ENERGY
ELASTIC ENERGY IS A RESULT OF THE DEFORMATION OF AN ELASTIC OBJECT, SUCH AS STRETCHING A RUBBER BAND OR A SPRING.
ELASTIC ENERGY IS ENERGY IN ELASTIC MATERIALS AS A RESULT OF TENSION OR COMPRESSION.
EXAMPLES OF ELASTIC MATERIALS INCLUDE THE BOW IN A BOW AND ARROW SET, LEAF SPRINGS IN CARS, AND ELASTIC BAND FLYING
MONKEYS.
ELASTIC ENERGY OF OR WITHIN A SUBSTANCE IS STATIC ENERGY OF STRUCTURE. IT CORRESPONDS TO ENERGY STORED
PRINCIPALLY BY CHANGING THE INTER-ATOMIC DISTANCES BETWEEN NUCLEI. FOR SOME SOLID OBJECTS, TWISTING, BENDING, AND
OTHER DISTORTIONS MAY GENERATE THERMAL ENERGY, CAUSING THE MATERIAL'S TEMPERATURE TO RISE. INTERNAL ELASTIC
WAVES, CALLED PHONONS, OFTEN CARRIES THERMAL ENERGY IN SOLIDS.
SIMPLE PROCESSES THAT UTILIZE ELASTIC ENERGY ARE MECHANICAL PENS, WINDING WATCHES, AND MODEL AEROPLANES.
CHEMICAL ENERGY
THE ENERGY HELD IN THE COVALENT BONDS BETWEEN ATOMS IN A MOLECULE IS CALLED CHEMICAL ENERGY. CHEMICAL ENERGY IS
ENERGY IN THE BONDS BETWEEN ATOMS AND MOLECULES. EVERY BOND HAS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ENERGY. TO BREAK THE BOND
REQUIRES ENERGY, IN CHEMICAL LANGUAGE IT IS CALLED ENDOTHERMIC. THESE BROKEN BONDS THEN JOIN TOGETHER TO CREATE
NEW MOLECULES, AND IN THE PROCESS RELEASE HEAT -- CHEMISTS CALL THIS EXOTHERMIC.
SIMPLE PROCESSES THAT USE CHEMICAL ENERGY ARE WHEN A FUEL IS BURNED THE CHEMICAL ENERGY IS CONVERTED TO HEAT,
SAME IS THE CASE WITH DIGESTION OF FOOD METABOLIZED IN A BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM. GREEN PLANTS TRANSFORM SOLAR
ENERGY TO CHEMICAL ENERGY THROUGH THE PROCESS KNOWN AS PHOTOSYNTHESIS, AND ELECTRICAL ENERGY CAN BE
CONVERTED TO CHEMICAL ENERGY THROUGH ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTIONS.
A COMMON EXAMPLE INVOLVING CHEMICAL ENERGY IS A BATTERY. CHEMICALS IN DIFFERENT CHAMBERS OF THE BATTERY ARE
ALLOWED TO INTERACT, REDUCING CHEMICAL ENERGY AND PRODUCING ELECTRICAL ENERGY SAME THING HAPPENS FOR LEMON
BATTERIES AND POTATO BATTERIES.) SIMILARLY, THE INSTANT HEAT PACKS FOUND IN FIRST-AID KITS USE A CHEMICAL REACTION
THAT CONVERTS CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO HEAT ENERGY.
AN EXOTHERMIC EXAMPLE INVOLVES CEMENT. DRY POWDERED CEMENT MIXED WITH WATER WILL BECOME WARM. THIS IS BECAUSE
OF A REACTION BETWEEN THE WATER AND THE LIME IN THE CEMENT, WHICH RELEASE SOME OF THEIR CHEMICAL ENERGY AS HEAT
ENERGY.
ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY
SOME KINDS OF ENERGY CAN TRAVEL ACROSS EMPTY SPACE. SUCH ENERGY, CALLED RADIANT ENERGY, CAN TRAVEL THROUGH A
VACUUM. RADIANT ENERGY IS CAUSED BY ACCELERATED ELECTRIC CHARGES OR BY ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC FIELDS THAT INCREASE
OR DECREASE WITH TIME.
ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY IS ENERGY STORED IN THE FIELD CREATED BY THE CHARGES OF ATOMS.
SIMPLE PROCESSES THAT UTILIZE ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY WAS AN EARLY WIRELESS TELEPHONE BASED ON RADIANT ENERGY
INVENTED BY NIKOLA TESLA. THE DEVICE USED TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS WHOSE RESONANCES WERE TUNED TO THE SAME
FREQUENCY, ALLOWING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THEM. IN 1916, HE RECOUNTED AN EXPERIMENT HE HAD DONE IN 1896. HE
RECALLED THAT, "WHENEVER I RECEIVED THE EFFECTS OF A TRANSMITTER, 1 OF THE SIMPLEST WAYS [TO DETECT THE WIRELESS
TRANSMISSIONS] WAS TO APPLY A MAGNETIC FIELD TO CURRENTS GENERATED IN A CONDUCTOR, AND WHEN I DID SO, THE LOW
FREQUENCY GAVE AUDIBLE NOTES."
EXAMPLES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY INCLUDE NEON SIGNS, WOOLY WILLY, RADIOS, AND, FIREWORKS.
THERMAL ENERGY
THERMAL ENERGY REFERS TO THE PART OF THE INTERNAL ENERGY OF A SYSTEM WHICH IS THE TOTAL PRESENT KINETIC ENERGY
RESULTING FROM THE RANDOM MOVEMENTS OF ATOMS AND MOLECULES. THERMAL ENERGY IS ENERGY IN THE PARTICLES OF
o
MATTER ABOVE – 273.15 C.
THERMAL ENERGY IS DISTINCT FROM HEAT. THERMAL ENERGY IS A PROPERTY OF A SYSTEM, WHILE HEAT IS CHARACTERISTIC ONLY
OF A PROCESS. MATTER DOES NOT CONTAIN HEAT, BUT RATHER THERMAL ENERGY. HEAT IS THERMAL ENERGY IN THE PROCESS OF
TRANSFER OR CONVERSION ACROSS A BOUNDARY OF 1 REGION OF MATTER TO ANOTHER, AS A RESULT OF A TEMPERATURE
DIFFERENCE.
MICROSCOPICALLY, THE THERMAL ENERGY IS PARTLY THE KINETIC ENERGY OF A SYSTEM'S CONSTITUENT PARTICLES, WHICH MAY BE
ATOMS, MOLECULES, ELECTRONS, OR PARTICLES IN PLASMAS. THERMAL ENERGY ORIGINATES FROM THE INDIVIDUALLY RANDOM, OR
DISORDERED, MOTION OF PARTICLES IN A LARGE ENSEMBLE.
MACROSCOPICALLY, THE THERMAL ENERGY OF A SYSTEM AT A GIVEN TEMPERATURE IS RELATED PROPORTIONALLY TO ITS HEAT
CAPACITY.
EXAMPLES OF THERMAL ENERGY INCLUDE WHEN YOU PUT YOUR HAND OVER A HOT STOVE YOU CAN FEEL THE HEAT. YOU ARE
FEELING THERMAL ENERGY IN TRANSFER. THE ATOMS AND MOLECULES IN THE METAL OF THE BURNER ARE MOVING VERY RAPIDLY
BECAUSE THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY FROM THE WALL OUTLET HAS INCREASED THE THERMAL ENERGY IN THE BURNER. AN
ADDITIONAL EXAMPLE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE RUB OUR HANDS TOGETHER. THE MECHANICAL ENERGY INCREASES THE
THERMAL ENERGY CONTENT OF THE ATOMS IN OUR HANDS AND SKIN. WE THEN FEEL THE CONSEQUENCE OF THIS HEAT.
SIMPLE PROCESSES THAT UTILIZE THERMAL ENERGY ARE HAND WARMERS, REFRIGERATORS, POPCORN KETTLES, AND HOT DOG
ROLLERS.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR ENERGY IS ENERGY IN THE NUCLEUS (CORE) OF AN ATOM. ATOMS ARE TINY PARTICLES THAT MAKE UP EVERY OBJECT IN
THE UNIVERSE. THERE IS ENORMOUS ENERGY IN THE BONDS THAT HOLD ATOMS TOGETHER. ENERGY STORED IN HOLDING ATOMIC
NUCLEI TOGETHER.
NUCLEAR ENERGY CAN BE USED TO MAKE ELECTRICITY. BUT FIRST THE ENERGY MUST BE RELEASED. IT CAN BE RELEASED FROM
ATOMS IN TWO WAYS: NUCLEAR FUSION AND NUCLEAR FISSION.
NUCLEAR FISSION
AN ATOM'S NUCLEUS CAN BE SPLIT APART. WHEN THIS IS DONE, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY IS RELEASED. THE ENERGY IS
BOTH HEAT AND LIGHT ENERGY. EINSTEIN SAID THAT A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF MATTER CONTAINS A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF
ENERGY.
THIS ENERGY, WHEN LET OUT SLOWLY, CAN BE HARNESSED TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY. WHEN IT IS LET OUT ALL AT ONCE, IT CAN
MAKE A TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION IN AN ATOMIC BOMB.
NUCLEAR FUSION
FUSION IS THE JOINING OF SMALLER NUCLEI (THE PLURAL OF NUCLEUS) TO MAKE A LARGER NUCLEUS. THE SUN USES NUCLEAR
FUSION OF HYDROGEN ATOMS INTO HELIUM ATOMS. THIS GIVES OFF HEAT AND LIGHT AND OTHER RADIATION.
PROCESSES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
TODAY DOCTORS CAN USE IMAGING IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE, WHICH INCLUDE A HUGE ARRAY OF NON-INVASIVE TECHNIQUES. SOME OF
THESE TECHNIQUES INCLUDE LIKE X-RAYS, MRI SCANNERS, CAT SCANS, AND ULTRASOUND.
NUCLEAR SUBS AND AIRCRAFT CARRIERS ARE POWERED BY NUCLEAR REACTORS THAT ARE NEARLY IDENTICAL TO THE REACTORS
USED IN COMMERCIAL POWER PLANTS. THE REACTOR PRODUCES HEAT TO GENERATE STEAM TO DRIVE A STEAM TURBINE. THE
TURBINE IN A SHIP DIRECTLY DRIVES THE PROPELLERS, AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL GENERATORS.
EXAMPLE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL BEING USED IN ADDITION TO NUCLEAR POWER INCLUDE: TO DETECT AND TREAT CERTAIN
ILLNESSES, TO PERFORM RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITIES, TO HELP IN INDUSTRIES FOR SUCH THINGS AS LOCATING CRACKS IN STEEL,
GETTING RID OF DUST FROM FILM AND EVEN MEASURING THE AMOUNT OF AIR WHIPPED INTO ICE CREAM!
MECHANICAL ENERGY
MECHANICAL ENERGY IS THE ENERGY, WHICH IS POSSESSED BY AN OBJECT DUE TO ITS MOTION OR ITS STORED ENERGY OF
POSITION. MECHANICAL ENERGY CAN BE EITHER KINETIC ENERGY (ENERGY OF MOTION) OR POTENTIAL ENERGY (STORED ENERGY
OF POSITION).
AN OBJECT THAT POSSESSES MECHANICAL ENERGY IS ABLE TO DO WORK. IN FACT, MECHANICAL ENERGY IS OFTEN DEFINED AS THE
ABILITY TO DO WORK. ANY OBJECT THAT POSSESSES MECHANICAL ENERGY ENABLES THAT OBJECT TO APPLY A FORCE TO ANOTHER
OBJECT IN ORDER TO CAUSE IT TO BE DISPLACED.
SIMPLE PROCESSES THAT USE MECHANICAL ENERGY INCLUDE, THE MASSIVE WRECKING BALL OF A DEMOLITION MACHINE. UPON
HITTING THE OBJECT, THE WRECKING BALL APPLIES A FORCE TO IT IN ORDER TO THE OBJECT TO BE DISPLACED.
EXAMPLES OF MECHANICAL ENERGY INCLUDE A HAMMER, WHICH IS A TOOL THAT UTILIZES MECHANICAL ENERGY TO DO WORK. THE
MECHANICAL ENERGY OF A HAMMER GIVES IT THE ABILITY TO APPLY A FORCE TO A NAIL IN ORDER TO CAUSE IT TO BE DISPLACED.
BECAUSE THE HAMMER HAS MECHANICAL ENERGY (IN THE FORM OF KINETIC ENERGY), IT IS ABLE TO DO WORK ON THE NAIL.
ALSO, AT A BOWLING ALLEY, THE MECHANICAL ENERGY OF A BOWLING BALL GIVES THE BALL THE ABILITY TO APPLY A FORCE TO A
BOWLING PIN IN ORDER TO CAUSE IT TO BE DISPLACED. BECAUSE THE MASSIVE BALL HAS MECHANICAL ENERGY (IN THE FORM OF
KINETIC ENERGY), IT IS ABLE TO DO WORK ON THE PIN.
FINALLY, A DART GUN IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW MECHANICAL ENERGY OF AN OBJECT CAN DO WORK ON ANOTHER OBJECT.
WHEN A DART GUN IS LOADED AND THE SPRINGS ARE COMPRESSED, IT POSSESSES MECHANICAL ENERGY. THE MECHANICAL
ENERGY OF THE COMPRESSED SPRINGS GIVES THE SPRINGS THE ABILITY TO APPLY A FORCE TO THE DART IN ORDER TO CAUSE IT TO
BE DISPLACED. BECAUSE THE SPRINGS HAVE MECHANICAL ENERGY (IN THE FORM OF ELASTIC POTENTIAL ENERGY), IT IS ABLE TO DO
WORK ON THE DART. MECHANICAL ENERGY IS THE ABILITY TO DO WORK.