Different Types of Energy

All about energy

Thermodynamics is the study of energy. Energy is the ability to do work. Work, is the process of energy transfer. Based on the first law of thermodynamics energy or matter can neither be created nor destroyed. There are a lot of different forms of energy and therefore when they change from one another work is being done on the object. These are some of the basics from of energy. 

Kinetic Energy

The two main types of energy are kinetic energy and potential energy. Kinetic energy it's a object in motion relative to the ground and is abbreviated as KE. The equation for calculating the kinetic energy of an object is KE = ½ mv² . We know that this type of energy exist, because we could see the different objects moving. If a soccer ball flies through the air it has kinetic energy, because it is moving. The faster the ball will move, the more kinetic energy it will have. 

 

Potential Energy

When holding an object at a distance from the floor, it has the potential to start moving, once letting it go. The force of gravity is pulling on the object, giving it potential energy. The equation is PE = mgh. This type of energy could be stored. 

Thermal or Heat energy

One type of kinetic energy is the thermal or heat energy. When holding a cup of coffee, it is believed to have "thermal energy "or "heat energy" which is really kinetic energy at the molecular level (the molecules have kinetic energy because they are moving and vibrating. Temperature is really a measure of how much thermal energy something has. The higher the temperature, the faster the molecules are moving therefore the more kinetic and potential energy the molecules have. 

Mechanical Energy

Mechanical energy is the sum of energy in a mechanical system. Is the energy that is held by an object due to its motion or due to its position.  Mechanical energy can be either kinetic energy (energy of motion) or potential energy (stored energy of position).When thinking about a moving baseball we have to account both mechanical energy due to its high speed (kinetic energy) and its vertical position above the ground (gravitational potential energy).

Chemical energy

Chemical energy is the potential of a chemical reaction to occur or to transform other chemical substances. The energy that is stored in chemical bonds is released when chemical reactions occur. 

Sound Energy

Sound energy is the energy produced by vibrations of the object as they travel through a specific medium. Because of movement of the object, this is a type of kinetic energy. The movement of sound depends through which material it travels. The denser the material, the harder for the sound to go through it. 

Gravitational Energy

Gravitational potential energy is the energy possessed by an object because of its position in a gravitational field. The most common use of gravitational potential energy is for an object near the surface of the Earth where the acceleration due to gravity is assumed to be about 9.8 m/s2.When thinking about an water fall the energy was saved as potential energy in the gravitational field of the Earth and was released out of storage as the water dropped. When the water dropped, the energy was converted into kinetic energy. 

Elastic potential energy

This basically  is potential energy stored as a result of deformation, stretching or bending  of an elastic object, such as the stretching of a spring, bands, rubber  . The amount of elastic potential energy stored in the object is related to the amount of stretch done on the object - the more stretch, the more stored energy.