![]() ![]() Electrical (Electromagnetic) Potential EnergyĮlectrical potential energy is present when positive and negative electric charges are separated from each other, as is a battery. The elastic potential energy in the rubber band was converted into kinetic energy. For example, toy airplanes fly when a rubber band untwists and spins a propeller. The elastic potential energy in a rubber band can be used to do work. It occurs when an object (such as our skin, a spring, a trampoline, or a rubber band) resists being stretched out of shape. This form of energy is called elastic potential energy. Elastic Potential EnergyĪ stretched rubber band has the potential to do work or change things. In a lighted firecracker chemical energy is used to make a loud sound and to scatter pieces of the firecracker all over. The chemical energy in food is used by our bodies to move. There are many examples of chemical potential energy being converted to kinetic energy to do work. During combustion, chemical bonds are broken and reformed (changing gasoline into byproducts such as water and carbon dioxide) releasing energy. The energy stored in gasoline is released by burning it (combustion). During combustion, bonds are broken and reformed creating new products. The energy stored in molecules is called chemical potential energy. It takes energy to make these molecules and hold them together. All nonliving and living things, from automobiles to zebras, are made up of molecules. The chemical makeup (arrangement of molecules) of gasoline makes it a good fuel source. Various Forms of Potential Energy Chemical Po tential Energy In other words, the textbook would not have potential energy if it were not for the Earth. However, the textbook has potential energy because it is part of a system that includes the Earth, one in which both exert gravitational forces on each other. Many would say that the textbook has potential energy stored within it, and it is often convenient to think that only the textbook has potential energy. Second, consider a textbook held above a classroom floor. First, saying that energy is stored in something may imply that energy is some sort of invisible substance, which it isn't. Systems of objects ranging from atoms to planets can be arranged in many ways, resulting in many forms of potential energy: chemical, elastic, electrical (electromagnetic), gravitational, nuclear, and thermal energy.Īlthough potential energy is often referred to as "stored" energy, two misconceptions may arise when referred to in this way. Potential energy is defined as the energy associated with the arrangement of a system of objects that exert forces on one another. Potential energy is stored or released when the arrangement of the objects and/or the forces they exert on each other changes in some way. ![]() A thrown football, a speeding automobile, a marathon runner, or a rock falling from a cliff, are examples of objects that have kinetic ener gy. Kinetic energy is defined as the energy of a moving object. In addition, potential energy takes several forms of its own. ![]() With so much going on, how can we figure out what forms of energy these things and events have? After hundreds of years of observation and experimentation, science has classified energy into two main forms: kinetic energy and potential energy. Fires burn, rubber bands snap back, flashlights turn on and shine, objects fall, and things appear to be hot, cold, or just the right temperature. The energy we sense all around us seems to have many forms.
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