Skip to main content

ABOUT

ABOUT FOR ENERGY-VOB

Work capacity is the essence of energy.

The capacity to perform work is how scientists characterise energy. The ability to convert energy form to form and then use that form to do work is what makes modern civilisation conceivable. Energy is used for everything from human locomotion (walking, biking) to the propulsion of motorised vehicles (driving, sailing), the production of food (cooking, freezing), the illumination of buildings (offices, homes, factories), the processing of materials (manufacturing), and the launch of manned space missions (sent into orbit).

Many sources of power exist, including:

Heat \sLight \sMotion

Electrical \sChemical \sGravitational

Two broad categories of work-doing energy can be identified among these sources:

Stored, or potential, energy

Active, or kinetic, energy

Other forms of energy can be created by combining different kinds of energy. The chemical energy included in the food you consume is stored in your body until it is converted into kinetic energy that you can use in your daily activities. Coal and natural gas have chemical energy, while the kinetic energy of water flowing through rivers has kinetic energy that can be transformed to electricity and then to light and heat.

Comments