The Two Main Types Of Energy
In a simple word, we can define energy as power. This is a kind of power that we can use in our own advantage. Energy is not just man's power of moving or doing certain things. Energy is all around us. Whenever a thing moves, it's actually energy that makes him do that.
Different types of energy are present in our lives. We all heard about all kinds of energy forms. We heard about electrical energy, chemical energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, heat, potential energy, work, and many other forms of energy. But, as incredible as it may seem, there are only two types of energy. These are kinetic and potential energy. Potential energy, also called stored energy, is the energy present in all things, the energy waiting to be used. Kinetic energy, also called the energy of motion is the energy in action. To explain better the differences between these two types of energy, we'll take an easy example. Let's say you are running. By doing that you convert the potential energy stored in your cells into the kinetic energy of your body.
Potential energy comes in numerous forms, such as gravitational potential energy, chemical potential energy, thermal potential energy, elastic potential energy and electrical potential energy. Gravitational potential energy refers to lifting things. Whenever you do that you actually do work against gravity. But, if you lift the object, and then let it go, because of the motion of the object towards the floor, potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy. Chemical potential energy can also be converted into kinetic energy. The process consists on burning different things. During the combustion, molecules found in the fuel are heated, and they start moving faster. The bonds between molecules are then broken and kinetic energy is then released. The same process takes place inside our bodies. The food is converted in to heat, and because of that kinetic energy appears. These are just few examples of potential energy transformed into kinetic energy. The same things happen with these types of energy, when we refer to thermal energy or electrical potential energy.
So, because everything contains energy, we can say that these two types of energy are all around us. So, all things that involve motion, also involve potential and its conversion into kinetic energy. And because nature also means motion, we can say that there is energy everywhere around us.