What is energy?

Energy is the name given to the ability to do work. Work and energy are measured in the same units.
People often confuse energy, power, and force. Force is a push or a pull on an object or body. The amount
of work is determined by the strength of the force used and the distance through which it moves. Power
measures the rate at which work is done.
Most of the energy on earth comes from the sun. It travels from the sun to the earth in the rays that the sun
gives off. The sun's rays are needed so that plants can make food. The food that plants make is the food on
which all the animals in the world depend in order to live. Animals and human beings use the energy
found in food to operate their bodies and muscles. The sun's energy is stored up in coal, wood, and oil,
which are burnt to produce electricity to run machines and other electrical appliances.
Without energy, nothing would work. Animals and plants would die, and machines would not work. In
fact, without energy, there would be no life, for all life forms needs energy.

Forms of Energy
Energy in Action
Heat Energy
Hot things, such as the burning of coal, give out heat energy. This is the energy we can feel.
Anything that gives off heat is a source of heat. The heat that we use or that affects life and events on the
earth comes from several sources:
The sun is our most important source of heat. If the sun should ever cool, the earth would become cold
and lifeless.
The earth itself contains much heat deep inside. When a volcano erupts, some of this heat escapes to the
surface. The lava from a volcano is rock melted by the heat deep within the earth. Some of the earth's heat
also escapes in geysers. People have begun to use the earth's heat to generate electric power, heat houses,
and do other work.
Chemical reactions can produce heat in a number of ways. A chemical reaction in which a substance
combines with oxygen is called oxidation. Rapid oxidation produces heat fast enough to cause a flame.
When coal, wood, natural gas, or any other fuel burns, substances in the fuel combine with oxygen in the
air to form other compounds. This chemical reaction, which is known as combustion, produces heat and
fire.
Light Energy
Light is so common that we often take it for granted. Yet the world would quickly change if suddenly
there were no light. We could no longer see, because light that comes to our eyes makes seeing possible.
Without light, we would have no food to eat or air to breathe. Green plants use the light from the sun to
grow and to make food. All the food we eat comes from plants or animals that eat plants. As plants grow,
they give off oxygen. This oxygen is a necessary part of the air we breathe.
Some natural sources of light are: the sun, moon and stars and lightning.
Some artificial sources of light are: electric bulb, fluorescent tube, torch, candle and matches,

 Sound Energy
Sound is a sensation that we hear. A sound originates in the vibration of an object. This vibration, in turn,
makes the air or some other substance surrounding the object vibrate. The vibrations in the substance
travel as waves, moving outward from the object in all directions. When the waves enter our ears, our
organs of hearing translate them into nerve impulses. The impulses travel to the brain, which interprets
them as a sound. The term sound also refers to the traveling waves.
Waves of sound can travel in any kind of substance. Most of the sounds that we hear travel in air but
sound can also travel in liquids and solids. Sound travels most rapidly in solids, and more rapidly in
liquids than in gases.
Sounds can be pleasant like birds singing or sounds made from musical instruments. Sounds can also be
unpleasant especially if they are loud and continuous.
Electrical Energy
Many aspects of our daily lives depend on electric energy. It is used in homes to run many appliances like
dishwashers, toasters, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines. Air conditioners and electric fans cool our
homes, while electric heaters provide warmth and hot water. Television, radio, video games, compact disc
players, and videocassette recorders furnish entertainment. Electric lights let us make use of the nighttime
hours.
Electric energy powers almost every device people use to communicate. Communication devices like
telephones, TV's, radios, fax machines, and computer modems all run on electric energy.
Modern industry would be impossible without electric energy. Electric power is used in factories to run
machines.
Electric power is also used in transportation. It drives many trains and subway systems.
Electrical energy is a very useful form of energy as it can easily be transformed into other forms of
energy.
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. The word kinetic comes from a Greek word meaning to move.
All moving objects have kinetic energy. The faster an object moves the more kinetic energy it has.
A moving train or a high speed exhibits kinetic energy.

Stored Energy
Chemical Energy
Chemical energy is energy stored in substances such as food, fuels (petrol, gas, coal), batteries and cells.
Chemical energy can be changed into other forms of energy. In a battery, the chemical energy is
transformed into electrical energy. The chemical energy in food is burnt in our body to produce heat
energy.

 Potential Energy
Potential energy is often called stored energy. It represents work that has already been done. A rock lying
on the top of a cliff has potential energy and so does the cartridge in a loaded rifle. When the rock topples
over the cliff or the gun fires, potential energy becomes kinetic energy.
If you stretch an elastic band between your fingers, it represents potential energy. Let the elastic band snap
back into its normal position, and the potential energy is changed to kinetic energy as long as the band
keeps moving.
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy is stored inside elements. This energy can be released from some elements such as
uranium. During the process, the elements changes into another element and a lot of energy mainly in the
form of heat is released. This happens when an atom bomb explodes.

Sources of energy
There are many sources of energy in the world. The main ones are fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas),
nuclear energy, hydro power, wind energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, tidal energy and firewood
(biomass fuel)
These sources of energy can be classified into two kinds- renewable and non-renewable energy sources
Renewable energy sources are those that can be replenished when they have been used.
Non-renewable sources of energy are those that cannot be replenished and will eventually be used up.
Only two types of non-renewable energy sources exist: fossil fuels and nuclear energy. All the other
sources are renewable.
Non-renewable energy sources

Renewable energy sources

Fossil fuels (oil/petrol, coal and natural gas)

Hydro power (moving water)

Nuclear energy

Solar energy
Wind energy
Tidal energy
Geothermal energy
Firewood (biomass fuel)

 Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels include, in order of the amount used worldwide, petroleum/oil, coal, and natural gas.
Petroleum, coal and natural gas store chemical energy. They were formed from buried dead trees, animals
and organisms which have been compressed underground a very long time ago. Most petroleum is
removed from deep within the earth as a liquid called crude oil and are then sent to refineries to be
separated parts to be used as fuels. . Like petroleum, natural gas comes from deposits in the earth. Natural
gas is a clean source of energy because it is refined naturally during its formation within the earth and
does not require further refining. In addition, natural gas can be compressed into a liquid and transported
long distances through pipelines.
Petroleum is refined to produce transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel fuel. Huge electric
generators in power plants produce almost all the world's electric power. The majority of these plants burn
coal, oil, or natural gas to run the generators.
Hydropower
Where water flows from a high place to a lower one, the gravitational energy of the falling water can be
captured and used to produce other forms of energy. Most water power is used to generate electric power.
Electricity produced from the force of moving water is called hydroelectricity. Water power supplies
energy without pollution and without using up the water in the process. But costly dams and other
structures are required to harness water power.
Nuclear Energy
Today, nuclear energy comes from fission-that is, the splitting of atomic nuclei of certain elements,
especially uranium. But scientists hope eventually to produce nuclear energy from fusion, the combining
of atomic nuclei.
Nuclear fission creates huge amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel. The heat energy that is
produced during controlled fission reactions can be used to generate electric power.
Firewood/ Fuel wood
Wood once served as the world's chief fuel. In many developing countries, wood is still the main source of
heat energy. But in the developed countries, the use of wood for heating is limited mainly to fireplaces.
Solar Energy
Energy from the sun is called solar energy. Solar energy is used throughout the world to perform various
small jobs. People capture this type of energy with various devices that change the sun's energy into heat
or electrical energy. Flat-plate collectors convert solar energy into heat energy to heat water in solar water
heaters. Solar cells, also called photovoltaic cells, convert solar energy directly into electrical energy.

Solar energy is also used by plants during photosynthesis to manufacture their own food and for growth.
The energy is stored as chemical energy.
Solar power can provide a clean and almost unlimited source of energy. But it is thinly distributed over a
wide area and must be collected and concentrated to produce energy. In addition, darkness and bad
weather interrupt the supply of sunlight.
Wind Energy
Wind is moving air. Wind power turns windmills and propels sailboats. Wind turbines are connected to
generators which convert the kinetic energy of wind to electrical energy. Private uses of the clean energy
that is provided by wind occur all over the world. But wind power is commercially practical only in areas
that have strong, steady winds.
Tidal Energy
The rising and falling of the sea level is called a tide. It is caused by the attraction of the Moon and the
Sun on the water of the ocean. Tidal energy comes from the gravitational energy of water as it flows from
high tide to low tide. This energy can be captured by closing a bay with a dam. As the tide rises, the bay
fills with water. At high tide, the dam is closed to hold the water in the bay. At low tide, the stored water is
released through a turbine to generate electric power. The chief disadvantage of tidal power plants is that
they can produce energy only during falling tides. Also, the plants can be built in few places.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal power is generated wherever water comes in contact with hot rocks below the earth's surface.
The rocks give off heat that makes the water hot enough to turn into steam. Some of this heat energy
escapes through volcanoes, geysers and hot springs. Power companies can drill wells and pump the hot
water or steam to the surface, where it can be used to generate energy. The production of geothermal
energy can occur only in areas where hot rocks lie near the earth's surface. Bolivia, Iceland, Italy, Japan,
the Philippines, New Zealand, and the United States have developed geothermal power plants.
Solid and liquid wastes
Solid and liquid wastes also can provide energy. Burning trash can produce heat energy and electric
energy. Some paper and lumber mills use waste wood to fuel boilers, which generate steam for the plant.
Many cities throughout the world produce usable energy by burning trash. Burning wastes also reduces
the amount of trash that must be placed in landfills. Cities also can process liquid organic wastes, such as
sewage, to produce methane gas that can be used for fuel. Another process, called bioconversion, converts
organic plant and animal wastes into useful liquid fuels, such as methanol, natural gas, and oil.

Conservation of energy
Conserving energy and using it wisely will also make the energy supply last longer. Until other sources of
energy are further developed, nations must conserve fossil fuels to make the supply last as long as
possible. Most of the responsibility for conservation rests with industrialized nations because they
consume the majority of the world's energy.
Industries and individuals can conserve energy in many ways:

Use cars less often. Use public transport instead.

Walk short distances instead of using a car.

Switch off lights and electrical appliances when not in use.

Use less hot water and turning off unnecessary lights.

Use energy efficiency/energy saving bulbs

Such simple acts as raising thermostat settings in summer, lowering them in winter

Install insulation in homes and buildings, which reduces the amount of fuel used for heating and

air conditioning
Improved building construction, better insulation, and use of solar cells for heating and cooling.

Motorists can save gasoline by driving smaller cars and by forming car pools.

Develop more efficient engines for vehicles that are less fuel hungry.

Recycle materials such as metals because recycling uses less energy than producing metals from

raw materials (ores).

The recycling of paper glass and plastic containers greatly reduces the amount of energy used in

manufacturing new products.

Improved mining and manufacturing techniques can make the industrial use of fuel more efficient.