​

Kinetic and Potential Energy

Kinetic energy and potential energy can change forms. For example, the car moving up the hill is kinetic energy. When the car reaches the top of the hill and is about to go down the hill, that is the potential energy. When the car moves forward down the hill it is then again kinetic energy.

Kinetic and Potential Energy

POTENTIAL-having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.

Types of Kinetic Energy

1. Chemical Energy: is the chemical reaction causing changes. Things like batteries, gasoline and other fuel sources, and even food all store chemical energy. For example, when we burn coal, the chemical energy is released and is converted to heat, also called thermal energy and light energy.
2. Electrical Energy: is when motion, light or heat is produced by an electrical current, like from a battery which has stored electrical potential energy. When the current is in motion, it creates the electrical energy. Another example are the electric coils on a stovetop. When the electric current moves through the coils, it generates heat.
3. Gravitational Energy: is the energy an object has due to a change in its position. Water in a lake behind a dam has potential energy because it is higher than the stream on the other side of the dam. When gravity pushes the water through the gates at the bottom of the dam, energy is released – gravitational energy. Once the water gets down the hill, it has lost much of its gravitational energy.

Types of Kinetic Energy

4. Mechanical Energy: is the sum of the potential and kinetic energy of motion, and the position of an object that is used to do the work. For example energy from the wind turning a windmill, or the force of water turning a water wheel. When you swing a hammer to hit a nail, the action of swinging the hammer up then down is the kinetic energy. The hammer is the potential energy. So when combined to hit the nail, that is mechanical energy.

5. Nuclear Energy: is the energy in the nucleus of an atom. When these atoms are split by process of nuclear fission, it creates a chain reaction, and it releases energy in the form of heat.

Mechanical energy is the sum of the potential(stored)energy and kinetic(moving) energy that an object possesses.

Marble Run

Rotor

Stator

Creates electrical currents