Energy can do work
In the context of work, energy refers to the ability to do work, or the capacity to cause changes in the physical world. Work is the transfer of energy from one object to another, or the transfer of energy from an object to itself.
In physics, work is defined as the force applied to an object over a certain distance, and it is measured in units of joules. For example, when you lift a heavy box, you apply a force to it over a certain distance, and this results in work being done. The energy you expend in doing this work is stored in the box as potential energy, which can be released when you set the box down.
The concept of energy in the context of work is important in many fields, including mechanics, thermodynamics, and engineering. Understanding how energy is transferred and transformed in the course of doing work is crucial for designing and optimizing machines and systems, as well as for understanding the limits of what can be achieved with available energy resources.
In addition, the concept of energy in the context of work is relevant in everyday life, as it affects our ability to perform tasks and carry out physical activities. For example, when you feel tired and lack energy, it becomes more difficult to do work, whereas when you are well-rested and full of energy, you are able to perform tasks more efficiently.
What does science have to say about energy:
Entropy explains how energy disperses over space and time.
Energy is the ability to do work. It can take many forms, such as thermal, kinetic, potential, chemical, nuclear, and electromagnetic energy. Energy can be transformed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed. It is a conserved quantity. Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun, through processes such as photosynthesis and solar power. Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, also provide a significant amount of energy, but they are non-renewable resources. Nuclear power plants also generate energy through nuclear reactions.
There are many forms of energy, but some of the most common forms include:
Thermal energy: This is the energy associated with the temperature of an object or system. It is the energy that is transferred between two bodies at different temperatures when they come into contact.
Kinetic energy: This is the energy an object possesses due to its motion. It is equal to one-half the product of the object's mass and the square of its velocity.
Potential energy: This is the energy an object possesses due to its position or state. Examples include gravitational potential energy (an object at a higher elevation has more potential energy than an object at a lower elevation) and chemical potential energy (stored in the bonds of molecules).
Chemical energy: This is the energy stored in the bonds of molecules, and can be released through chemical reactions, such as combustion.
Nuclear energy: This is the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom, and can be released through nuclear reactions, such as fission and fusion.
Electromagnetic energy: This is the energy associated with electric and magnetic fields. It includes forms of energy such as light, radio waves, and X-rays.
Elastic energy: This is the energy stored in an elastic object when it is stretched or compressed.
Gravitational energy: This is the energy associated with an object's position in a gravitational field.
Sound energy: This is energy associated with sound waves.
mechanical energy: This is the sum of kinetic and potential energy in an object or system.
It's important to note that energy can also be classified as Renewable and non-renewable energy, based on their source of origin.
Energy flows towards balance.
Energy is in motion of something. It can be linear, it can be cyclic, and we perceive it in the familiar 4 dimensions of length, depth, height, and time ( x, y, z, t ).
Light energy can be observed to act like discrete lumps, physicists call the lumps quanta. Light energy can also be observed to act like waves. There is a wave-particle duality in the nature of light.
From Einstein's paper on photoelectric effect we gain insight of the energy of a single photon of light.
This equation is known as the Planck–Einstein relation
In a simplistic description, a lump of light collides with an atom. The lump of light affects an electron in the atom, the highest energy electron. The effect of the extra lump (quanta) of energy is the electron moves faster and jumps up to a higher energy level, atomic orbital, within the atom. If enough energy is gained by the electron it will leave the influence of its "home" atom moving away from it.
The interesting part is when the electron drops back down to its lower energy state. The electron sheds energy as it moves to a lower energy orbital, that energy is emitted as a lump (photon) of light.
The electron will remain stable in its lowest energy configuration, it lowest available stable orbit until energy is added to change the balance.
It is easy to see everywhere in nature water flowing down hill to the lowest space available. We can see puddles fill up from the bottom in the rain.
There is energy in upstream water. Waterwheels to hydroelectric power plants take advantage of this fact.
Energy moves to a place of less energy whenever it can. We can see that energy at the top of an energy gradient will flow towards its lowest most stable place.
In physics and chemistry, the law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant; it is said to be conserved over time.[1] This law, first proposed and tested by Émilie du Châtelet,[2][3] means that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another.
