Learning More About How Energy Comes About Around Us
Learning More About How Energy Comes About Around Us
Most forms of energy are related to motion. For instance, any given object has kinetic energy when it’s in motion. A spring, although at rest, possesses kinetic energy due to its configuration; it has potential energy due to its stretching. An inflamed muscle has potential energy for a simple reason: it can stretch, which gives it the potential to move. Now let’s apply this principle to various forms of energy. We’ll examine fire, magnetism, sound, light, food, and water.
Fire is a form of electromagnetic energy. In many different respects, this energy can be thought of as the fuel for some sort of chemical reaction. For instance, chemical reactions happen because the molecules of matter pick up energy as they go along, and then release that energy as their final product. There are many different forms of electromagnetic energy; fire is one of them.
Magnetic fields are collections of many different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that constantly flow in and out of an area. Because of this, they are constantly being destroyed and recreated. This creates a potential energy. When the energy is released, it takes the form of a different kind of electromagnetic radiation. A magnetic field is very important because it maintains a stable magnetic field around itself while inside an area; the energy it stores then helps it maintain a stable gravitational field, which is necessary to support life.
Heat is formed by objects heating up. If you had a stick of dynamite in your hand, it would burn up because it has thermal energy. If you had a fireplace in your home, it would burn up because it has electrical energy. Electrical and kinetic energy are kinds of electromagnetic radiation. Thermal energy, on the other hand, is the only kind of radiation that is not associated with any sort of molecules or atoms and it’s simply a kind of potential energy that can be converted into electrical or kinetic energy.
The process of nuclear fission is how plants use nuclear energy to create electricity. Nuclear fission occurs when two highly charged atoms near each other split. This creates a large amount of free radicals, which in turn, knock the atom of the next in line loose its electron. The next atom, in turn, pulls the electron from the source of the extra neutrons, and thus, creates a chain reaction. The chain reaction can potentially give off large amounts of energy. The amount of energy created depends on how fast the atoms move and how much energy is gained.
The sun is not only responsible for heating the earth; it also is responsible for causing it to heat up. Although, the sun is fairly passive and just radiates heat into space, it also uses up massive amounts of energy. We need to learn more about how the sun works, and perhaps more importantly, how we can use energy more efficiently and save energy. When we become better educated about the use of energy, we can make a difference. As individuals become educated about energy, they are more likely to take responsibility for using energy wisely and less likely to end up paying the electric company for excessive power usage.