Other examples of potential energy include the energy of water held behind a dam or a person about to skydive out of an airplane. Potential energy is not only associated with the location of matter, but also with the structure of matter. A spring on the ground has potential energy if it is compressed, as does a rubber band that is pulled taut. The same principle applies to molecules. On a chemical level, the bonds that hold the atoms of molecules together have potential energy.
This type of potential energy is called chemical energy, and like all potential energy, it can be used to do work. For example, chemical energy is contained in the gasoline molecules that are used to power cars. When gas ignites in the engine, the bonds within its molecules are broken, and the energy released is used to drive the pistons. The potential energy stored within chemical bonds can be harnessed to perform work for biological processes.
Different metabolic processes break down organic molecules to release the energy for an organism to grow and survive. Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:. Skip to main content. Potential and Kinetic Energy Explained. Overview Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, this is the conservation of energy law.
All energy, whether potential or kinetic, is measured in Joules J. Potential Energy Potential Energy is defined as the energy stored by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, electric charge, and other factors. Types of Potential Energy Chemical Battery animation motions towards a full charge. Elastic Spring animation expands and compresses. Nuclear Electrons circle a nucleus at the atomic level. Gravitational Apple falls from tree and rolls behind the trunk.
Kinetic Energy Kinetic Energy is defined as energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion. Types of Kinetic Energy Mechanical Gear spinning. Electrical Light bulb emitting light rays. Thermal Water-drop shaped flame sways left to right. Energy exists in many forms.
Some of them are Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, Chemical Energy, Nuclear Energy, Electrical Energy etc: Also, it is pertinent to note that there are other forms of energy like heat and work in the process of transfer from one body to another body. The unit of energy is Joules.
It is a bit difficult to define energy in very precise terms because it is an abstract notion and not something tangible. Energy is generally carried by something, usually in the form of movement. When objects move or remain in a position, they have energy which has different names. Though energy exists in various forms as mentioned earlier, it is important to understand that energy remains conserved always.
When a form of energy is converted from one form to another during any process, the overall quantity of energy remains the same; there is no loss or gain. This is what is called as conservation of energy. Our discussion here will focus on only two of the forms of energy — Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy.
Let us now go into each of these separately to understand them first. An energy that is stored in an object and not moving, but which has the potential to move is called Potential Energy.
Potential Energy or PE as we can call is the energy possessed by an object because of its position relative to another body. The PE could also be the energy in a body due to its internal stress if any or the electrical charges in a body.
One of the most common forms of PE is the gravitational potential energy. The amount of PE, in this case, depends on the mass of the body. This is the energy required to move a body against the force of gravitation of the earth. A spring when extended has energy in it waiting to come back to its original position. This also has enough potential energy. The term potential energy was first coined by a great physicist William Rankine in the 18 th century.
Potential energy is always determined based on the position of a body and not based on its trajectory of movement. Some of the important factors that impact PE are its mass, its height relative to another object, and strength of the gravitational field.
Imagine a book or a ball of iron resting on a table at a height of 2 meters from the ground. If the same object were to be placed at a height of 10 meters from the ground, the object at the higher position will have a higher PE than the one at the lower height. It is also called as restoring energy because this in a way forces the object to come back to its original energy state. When an object is raised from the ground, work is done against the gravitational force.
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