Energy transfers
There are energy transfers going on all the time - whenever a An object or group of objects. changes there is a change in the way some or all of the energy is stored.
Image caption, A swinging pirate ship ride at a theme park.
Kinetic energy is transferred into gravitational potential energy.
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Transferring energy
Energy is transferred by one of the following four types of energy transfer:
- mechanical work – a force moving an object through a distance
- electrical work – charges moving due to a potential difference
- heating – due to temperature difference caused electrically or by chemical reaction
- radiation – energy transferred as a wave, eg light, infrared, sound - light radiation and infrared radiation is Energy is 'given-out' by the material and the internal energy of the material will decrease. For example, infrared radiation from the Sun is emitted into space. by the Sun.
Doing 'work' is the scientific way of saying that energy has been transferred. For example, a grazing cow, a firing catapult and a boiling kettle are all doing 'work', as energy is being transferred.