The energy is the ability of a body to perform an action or work, or a change or transformation, and is manifested as it passes from one body to another. A matter has energy as a result of its motion or its position in relation to the forces acting on it. This term comes from the Greek expression " enérgeia ", and is applied in different areas of science such as chemistry, physics and economics.
What is Energy
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It is the ability of matter to perform a function as a consequence of its constitution (internal energy), its movement (kinetics) and its position (potential). It is a dimension balanced with work, so it is valued in the same units (in joules) within the international system. Depending on the physical system, or the way it manifests, different forms of this are taken into account: mechanical, thermal, electrical, chemical, nuclear, electromagnetic, etc.
This is usually measurable or measurable, in addition to being involved in all styles of action or reaction. Chemical reactions, displacement, changes in the state of matter, or even the state of rest, has its exposure in an amount of energy within a special class.
One of the basic fundamentals points out that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, as established by the principle of conservation of energy, however, it can be transformed from one type to another, just as it happens when electrical energy is used (also known as light), such as electric current, heat, sound, light and movement.
Therefore, the total energy of an eventual system remains permanent and in the universe, therefore, there can be no creation or disappearance of it, but rather transfer from one system to another, or conversion from one form to another.
Therefore, this is the result of the action through interactions or switching of the four types of essential forces of nature: electromagnetic, gravitational, strong nuclear and weak nuclear.
Various natural resources or phenomena of nature are capable of supplying and providing it in any of its forms, which is why they are considered natural sources of energy or energy resources.
There are two types of renewable sources, which when used are not exhausted, such as sunlight, wind, rain, river currents, etc.; and non-renewable sources, which are depleted when used, such as oil, natural gas or coal.
This phenomenon is continuously manifested around us, and it occurs in nature in many forms; kinetics (energy that a body has in motion), potential (energy that a body has caused by its position in space), electrical (capable of lighting a light bulb or running a motor), chemistry (contained in batteries and batteries, in fuels or in food), thermal, nuclear, wind, hydraulic, mechanical, radiant or electromagnetic, among others.
Natural sources of energy
The exploration of inexhaustible sources and the prevention of industrialized countries from strengthening their national economies, reducing the need for fossil fuels accumulated in foreign territories and almost depleting their own resources, led them to embrace the nuclear force and, in those that are supplied with water resources, to the intensive hydraulic exploitation of their water currents.
In economics and technology, it is said that this is a natural resource, just like technology, it is exploited for its industrial and economic use. Energy itself is not a good for final consumption, but rather is an intermediary to complement other needs in the generation of goods and services. Being a limited service, historically it has been the root of many conflicts for the control of energy resources.
According to this opinion, it is said that there are two large, technologically exploitable sources of energy:
Renewable energy
Renewable sources are those that, after being used, can be recovered naturally or artificially. One of these renewable sources are subject to phases that are sustained more or less permanently in nature.
There are different types of renewable energy, such as:
- The wind.
- Geothermal.
- Hydraulics.
- The tidal wave.
- The solar.
- Biomass
- The tidal wave.
- Blue energy.
- The thermoelectric.
- The nuclear fusion.
The non-renewable
Non-renewable sources are characterized because they are scarce on planet earth and whose lightness of consumption is higher than that of their regeneration, it is found in fossil energy, which emanates from biomass transformed thousands of years ago and which has tolerated numerous conversion processes due to the accumulation of large amounts of living waste in sedimentary basins.
Mainly it is about the union of hydrogen and carbon, until the creation of matter with a high energy content such as oil, coal or natural gas.
Non-renewable sources are:
- Coal.
- Natural gas.
- Petroleum.
- The nuclear or atomic, which needs uranium or plutonium.
On the other hand, it should be noted that today the main source of energy comes from oil, remember that it is a non-renewable resource, and sooner or later it will run out. Due to this, alternative sources are being implemented, such as hydrogen, wind, the sun, atomic nuclei, the heat of the earth, the force of the oceans, hydroelectricity and bioenergy, however, some require high economic costs and they still have drawbacks.
According to other criteria, they can also be called "clean sources" if they are considered positively in the ecological sphere (which is associated with renewable energies); and on the other hand, there are the so-called “dirty sources” when they are considered negative (related to non-renewable ones), despite the fact that no energy source really lacks some environmental effect in its use (which can be more or less negative in different contexts).
Energy Properties
Energy has certain properties that are quite useful, such as those mentioned below:
- It is transferred. That is, it can be transferred from one element to another. For example: a racket in motion has mechanical energy. When the ball hits the racket, it transfers energy to it and the ball also takes that energy.
- It can be stored. For example, batteries and cells save energy.
- It can be transported. That is, it can be sent from one place to another. As with the electricity that is transferred through cables and also as the fuel that are transported by gondolas.
- It can transform. That is, it can change from one type to another. Fuel chemistry can be transformed into mechanics in a car. And the electric can be quickly transformed into other types such as: light, mechanical, Sonora, among others. This is why it turns out to be so useful.
- Is preserved. It is maintained when it is transferred from one matter to another, or when one type of energy is converted into another. This property is known as the principle of energy conservation: energy is neither destroyed nor created, it is only converted.
- Degrades. There are more useful systems than others (in the aspect that allow to generate more transformations).
After the energy has already been used in a given conversion, a portion of its utility decreases. Then it is said that it has been degraded or has reduced its quality (it is not said that it has been spent). For example: an electrical resistance generates heat, but it is unlikely to be able to transform that heat back into electrical current.
Types of energy
There are currently fourteen different types of energy, which are mentioned below:
Kinetic energy
When a body is in motion we say that it produces or contains Kinetic Energy, in other words, it is the energy associated with objects that are in motion. The term "Kinetics" is of Greek origin and was derived from the word "kinesis" whose meaning is movement. This energy involves using force or work on an object that is located in a state of rest, enough to promote its acceleration and make it move.
Having achieved that acceleration is what is known as kinetics, it will not change, except that the speed of the moving object changes, if an external force is exposed on the body, it can modify its direction and speed and consequently also its kinetic force. To get said object to stop (return to its state of rest) it is necessary to apply an opposite or negative force, which must be equal to the amount or magnitude of kinetic energy that it possesses at that moment.
Wind power
It is the one that is generated through the wind, this type is considered one of the oldest that have been used by humanity together with the thermal one, one must go back to 3,000 BC to understand the first use of the wind as a source of Energy.
It was not until the middle of the 19th century that energy emerged, thanks to the first wind turbines, which were based on the shape and operation of windmills.
As a result of the industrial revolution and the creation of the steam engine, the mills lost their meaning, with the wind energy source being the next step in history that arrived in the early nineteenth century. Wind power in the 21st century is evolving unstoppably, especially in countries like Spain, where it has had a great development, this being one of the first countries below Germany at a European level or on a global scale, that uses this kind of energy.
Geothermal energy
It is a type of renewable energy source that is characterized by taking advantage of the heat that comes from the subsoil, with the aim of air conditioning and obtaining sanitary hot water in an ecological way.
It is important to highlight that in the inner zone of planet Earth, the core of it is located, it is an incandescent mass that radiates heat from the inside to the outside, which is the reason why, as we go deeper into the earth, the Temperature will increase in a progression of 2 to 4 ºC of temperature for every 100 meters that it deepens.
Gibbs energy
Gibbs free energy or free enthalpy is used in chemistry to explain whether a reaction will happen spontaneously or not. To calculate Gibbs free energy, it can be based on: the increase or decrease in entropy associated with the reaction, and the sum of heat required or released by it.
The important measures in Gibbs energy to calculate if a reaction occurs spontaneously or not, are for example: the enthalpy variation (ΔH) that explains if the reactions are endothermic or exothermic; if they are endothermic ΔH will be greater than zero, the opposite of exothermic will be less than zero.
Hydroelectric power
It is one that originates from the use of falling water from a certain height. The falling water is moved by turbines causing a rotational movement, which transforms it into mechanical energy, then all that energy passes through generators that convert it into electrical energy.
Among the advantages offered by this type is that it is an energy that produces a high energy efficiency. Its availability is inexhaustible. It is an energy that does not produce toxic emissions during its operation. On the other hand, the dams or reservoirs built serve as storage of water for the execution of recreational activities and for the supply of irrigation systems.
Light Energy
It is the one that comes from the light and travels through it. When moving, its behavior is similar to that of an electromagnetic wave. Although it also acts as a particle, since it has the ability to interact with matter. The unit of the International System of Measurements used to measure this class is the second lumen.
Some of the light energy can be transferred to other bodies with which the light comes into contact. Certain surfaces have physical and chemical properties that allow them to absorb this type of energy. The orientation of the object with respect to light and its geometric shape also influence its absorption capacity.
Mechanical energy
It is one in which the movement of bodies and the position they represent before another is very important. Mechanics is the result obtained in the sum of the kinetics, elasticity and potential that a moving body can present, this is seen more than anything in the academic training of people who study physics.
In the same way, it is also said that mechanical energy represents the ability of certain bodies with mass to do work. Always remembering that it is not created or destroyed, it is transformed or preserved, and therefore the mechanics remains constant over time, due to the interaction of mechanical force between particles that are intervening in that force.
Nuclear energy
It is a type that is released during the fission or fusion of atomic nuclei. The amount of energy obtained by these processes is much higher than that obtained by chemical processes.
At present, some 40 natural radioactive elements are known, most of which have a higher atomic number (Z) value of 83. These undergo nuclear reactions such as spontaneous decay or nuclear transmutation (bombardment of the nucleus with neutrons, protons and other nuclei).
Potential energy
This type represents the most far-reaching proportion of physics, since it makes it possible to visualize the dynamics of bodies, depending on the type of interaction being considered, chemical gravity, and the position where the bodies are located. A simple example of this occurs: when a heavy object is held up, it will have potential energy, due to its position relative to the ground.
Said object will have the ability to carry out work, because if it is released, it will fall to the ground as a result of gravity, being able to carry out work on another object that gets in the way.
Chemical energy
It is the type that arises as a result of a chemical reaction. For example, burning wood or coal generates chemical energy. In the same way, it can be said that it has been created, generated or produced starting from the interactions between atoms and molecules.
It is important to note that everything that exists is considered matter and one of the qualities of matter is to have chemical properties, and when two external bodies interact, a reaction occurs, altering its initial or natural state (this "alteration" is what is known as chemical energy).
Solar energy
It is a renewable source provided by the largest star and closest to Planet Earth. The electromagnetic rays emanating from the sun have the ability to provide enough power for devices that use electricity to work for a certain period of time.
Now, in order to take advantage of this, various high-tech objects have been developed that would make it much easier to obtain; for example, large glass panels are responsible for collecting the sun's energy, which will then be distributed and stored, so that it can be used at night.
The growing need to take care of the environment has provided a welcome reception to this new solution. With the use of the sun's energy, the emission of polluting gases by electricity companies or the pollution and waste of water by hydroelectric companies is being avoided.
Telluric Energy
They are the networks or meshes that surround the planet and serve to discharge part of the energy generated in its interior, which comes from the cosmos and from the artificial electromagnetic pollution that ends up penetrating the earth. They are all named after their discoverer, and we can only consider the two most important as harmful: the Hartmann network and the Curry network.
They come, circulate and emanate continuously from the surface of the earth and the subsoil, being closely related to the energetic variations of the geo-magnetosphere, the electro conductivity of the ground and the gravito-magnetic influences of the Sun and the rest of the planet.
Thermal energy
Also known as calorific, it is one that is located inside a balanced thermodynamic system and is identified with the symbol "U". This is distributed according to its absolute temperature, it usually increases or decreases by transmission of energy, this is usually done in the form of heat or work in thermodynamic processes.
Seawater energy
This is the name given to which is obtained from the constant increases and declines in sea level, for which the use of alternators is applied, in order to generate electricity, converting it into electrical energy, which makes it a source clean and safe. It can be said that it is of a renewable type, since the source of the same cannot be finished because of its use in this specific case, on the other hand, it is considered clean since no type is generated from it. of toxic waste.
Despite this, it has a point against it and it is the amount of energy that is generated from it, in addition to the cost for the installation of the equipment.
