Examples of potential energy include a drawn bowstring, a raised weight, or water behind a dam. It’s a form of energy that results from an object’s position or arrangement of parts. This energy has the potential to do work, hence the name. Potential energy is the stored energy in an object due to its position in a force field or in systems with stretched or compressed elastic materials. These two forms of energy play a significant role in various energy conversion processes, including solar power conversion, and are essential in the operation of many modern technologies. Understanding the concepts of radiant and potential energy is fundamental to the study of physics. Specifically, this simulation deals with conversions between forms of mechanical, electrical, chemical, and light energy.Introduction to Radiant Energy and Potential Energy Click to run an interactive simulation to explore transformations between types of energy. The University of Colorado has graciously allowed us to use the following PhET simulation. It is a challenge for all forms of power generation to minimize wasted energy and be as efficient as possible. This wasted energy is an unavoidable by-product of converting the car's fuel (chemical energy) into movement ("high-quality" kinetic energy), however it can potentially be used for heating the cabin of the car to slightly increase overall energy efficiency. The warmth of the engine does nothing to help the car move or go faster. Converting energy to a less-useful form and then trying to work backwards never gets 100% of the useful energy back.įor example, when a car runs, the engine will become hot (thermal energy). It can still be converted back to a higher-quality form, but useful energy is always lost in this process. The least useful form of energy is low-temperature thermal energy. Electricity, for example, can be easily used to generate heat ( thermal energy) or light ( radiant energy), break chemical bonds ( chemical energy), move objects ( kinetic energy), or lift objects ( gravitational potential energy). These are "high-quality" because they can be transformed almost completely into any other type of energy. Kinetic energy and electricity are the most useful forms. Using energy always makes it less useful, even though no energy is actually destroyed. Some forms of energy are more useful than others. Gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy Some examples of everyday energy transformations are:Ĭhemical energy to electrical energy (in the battery)Įlectrical energy to radiant energy (in the bulb) There are many different forms or types of energy. In fact, every useful process transforms energy from one form to another. The laws of thermodynamics apply to energy and energy conversions.Įnergy cannot be created or destroyed (which is called the conservation of energy) however, it can be transformed from one type into another. Thermodynamics is the study of how energy changes from one type to another. Any type of energy use must involve some sort of energy transformation.Įnergy must obey the laws of thermodynamics. Energy transformations are processes that convert energy from one type (e.g., kinetic, gravitational potential, chemical energy) into another.
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