- Energy is about being able to move stuff.
- Energy can either be created or destroyed.
- Energy is either stored (potential) or it's moving (kinetic).
- There are many different forms of energy. Namely:
- Mechanical (potential & kinetic)
- Electrical (potential & kinetic)
- Chemical (potential)
- Heat (kinetic)
- Nuclear (potential & kinetic)
- Light (kinetic)
- Elastic (potential)
- Gravitational (potential)
- Sound (kinetic)
- With falling objects, you have potential energy that converts into kinetic.
- But, moving objects can also simply have kinetic energy.
- We also learned that heat can turn into light, but we also learned that light can also turn into heat.
- We haven't mentioned it, but we also learned in this last unit that kinetic energy can also turn into heat energy.
- When things collide - kinetic energy turns into heat.
- When things crunch from the collision, the kinetic energy also turns into heat.
- When you rub surfaces - kinetic energy turns into heat.
- All of this heat also turns into light.
- Light also has energy that can convert into other forms of energy.
- We will learn eventually that:
- Light is what allows plants to make sugar - which is chemical energy.
- Light also reacts with certain chemicals to make photographs.
- Chemical reactions can also generate light and heat energy as well. Any time you have a fire, you are also generating heat & light energy.
- We will learn eventually that:
- The list goes on and on. But you get the picture.