Lets Learn Energy! | Types, Formulas, Unit, etc

Energy

Definition - "Motion and energy, say that energy is the ability to do work, and work is moving something against a force".  like gravity.

Unit of Measurement

It is measured in ‘Joule’ to honor the achievements of James Prescott Joule

Forms Of Energy

Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity, so it does not have a set direction.

Kinetic energy is something that can be transferred between objects and changed into other kinds of energy. For example, a flying squirrel might bump into a stationary pigeon. After the collision, there would be an initial kinetic energy of the squirrel that gets transferred into the pigeon or transformed to some other form of it.

It is the energy in motion, for e.g. moving/ water, a swinging pendulum, machines, sounds, a ball flying through the air, etc. The KE of a non-rotating object of mass ‘m’ traveling at a speed (velocity) ‘v ’is

KE = ½ m x v^2

Potential Energy: potential energy is also often referred to as stored energy. When at rest, all objects have a rest mass potential energy. Even if the object is in a position where it’ll soon get affected by gravity and fall, it has gravitational potential energy. Once an object starts moving, potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion.

It is the energy stored and measured by the amount of work done. For e.g. roller-coaster, water-wheel, oil in a barrel, water in a reservoir, etc. PE is calculated using the following formula:

PE= m x g x h

(Where ‘m’ is the mass in kilograms, ‘g’ is acceleration due to gravity, and ‘h’ is the height in meters).

Types Of Energy

Thermal or Heat: Thermal energy is nothing but energy that an object possesses or a system possesses due to the movement of particles within the object or the system. The energy is pushed into motion by using heat, for the e.g. fire in your fireplace, a hot cup of tea.

Chemical: Chemical Energy is something that is stored in the bonds of chemical compounds. It is then released in the form of a chemical reaction, which produces heat as a by-product

The energy is caused by chemical reactions, for e.g. food when it is being cooked, the glucose in our bodies.

Electrical: Electrical energy is stored in charged particles inside an electric field. The energy happens when electricity creates motion, light or heat. For e.g. the electric coils on your stove.

Gravitational: Gravitational potential energy, or GPE, can be described as height energy. So, the higher up an object is placed, the more GPE it has. The energy is transferred as a result of work done by gravity, for e.g. water falling down a waterfall, roller coaster, and reservoirs.

Magnetic: Magnetic energy is there inside a magnetic field, which leads to various metals either repelling or attracting each other. The energy results from the magnetic field of a magnet or a current carrying wire.

Nuclear: Nuclear energy is stored in the nucleus of an atom.here is massive energy in the bonds that hold atoms together, so nuclear energy can be easily used to make electricity. Examples are fission and fusion.

Solar: It’s also one of the most crucial forms of energy as this non-conventional source is non-polluting and helps in reducing the greenhouse effect. Similarly, solar panels have the potential to absorb the energy of the sun and provide heat for cooking and heating water. These systems are easily available in the market and have been used in homes and factories now.

Wind: Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy present in the wind into mechanical power. Even a generator converts mechanical power into electricity and mechanical power can be used directly for certain tasks such as pumping water. Moving air (wind) has a lot of kinetic energy, and this can be transferred into electrical energy with the help of wind turbines.

Conversion of Energy

Energy can take between different types of energy, i.e. can be converted from one form to another like electrical converted into heat or light energy, solar to chemical energy, PE into KE, etc. Conversion can be defined as ‘the process where there is a driven or natural change in energy from one form to another’.

• Examples Water producing electricity: Here the PE is converted into KE.
• Driving a Car: Here the chemical form is being converted into kinetic energy
• Boiling water using an electric kettle: Here electrical form is being converted into heat energy.