different kinds of energy
... Together, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas, and their derivatives) provide more than 85% of the energy used by mankind today. ... Scientists predict that within the next two centuries we will run out of those valuable energy sources. ... The goal of this report is learn, more about the different methods of energy production that are in use or are being researched now. Will we turn more and more to hydroelectric power to serve our energy needs? Or will we perhaps someday discover the secret of fusion and thus be guaranteed a virtually inexhaustible energy source? ... But this report will help educate us about the energy crisis so that at least we will be informed. Different Kinds Of Energy Potential energy is the capacity for doing work that a body possesses because of its position or condition. For example, a stone resting on the edge of the cliff has potential energy due to its position in the Earth’s gravitational field. If it falls, the force of gravity will act on until it strikes the ground; the stone’s potential energy is equal to its weight times the distance it can fall. A charge in the electric field also has potential energy because of its position; a stretched spring has potential energy because of its condition. Chemical energy is a special kind is a special kind of potential energy; it is the form of energy involved in chemical reactions. The chemical energy of a substance is due to the condition of the atoms of which it is made; it resides in the chemical binds that join atoms in compound substances. Kinetic energy is energy a body possesses because it is in motion. The kinetic energy of a body with mass m moving at a velocity v is one half the product of the mass of the body and the square of its velocity, i. ... Even when a body appears to be at rest, its atoms and molecules are in constant motion and thus have kinetic energy. The temperature of the body measures the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules. The difference between kinetic energy and potential energy, and the conversion of one to the other, is demonstrated by the falling of a rock from a cliff, when its energy of position is changed to energy of motion. ... As the suspended body moves upward in its swing, its kinetic energy is continuously being changed into potential energy; the higher it goes the greater becomes the energy that it owes to its position.