Define Energy ? I know, all the school books say energy is the ability to do work.

But what does that mean? Well it sort of means the ability to make something happen (the nearly-wellknown Dave Watson definition). Everytime a force is exerted on something through a distance (which is the definition of work) something had to move, which means something happened. But is that the definition of Energy? My thermo books say work is a process of energy transfer. Not a single one of my numerous thermodynamics text books says energy is "the ability to do work" For the purpose of explaining energy to beginners, I think the best description is the following nearly-well-known Dave Watson definition: Energy is a property or characteristic (or trait or aspect?) of matter that makes things happen, or, in the case of stored or potential energy, has the "potential" to make things happen. Without energy, nothing would ever change, nothing would ever happen. You might say energy is the ultimate agent of change, the mother of all change agents.
Knowing how to define chemical energy requires both an understanding of the basic concepts ofenergy as well as the specific characteristics of chemical energy. We are all dependent on many types of energy to accomplish the tasks of the day, and most of them are based on chemical energy. A quick examination of what chemical energy is and how it is used is thus helpful in giving us a better understanding of its many uses.

Energy is the ability to do work. It is measured in Joules.

TYPES OF ENERGY Potential Energy is stored energy. There are 3 types of potential energy - Chemical potential energy (in food, batteries and dynamite), Elastic potential energy (in rubber bands and springs), and Gravitational potential energy (of objects some height above the ground) Kinetic Energy is the energy of moving objects. Light or Radiant Energy Heat or Thermal Energy Sound Energy Electrical Energy Nuclear Energy

kinetic energy
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion, observable as the movement of an object, particle, or set of particles. Any object in motion is using kinetic energy: a person walking, a thrown baseball, a crumb falling from a table, and a charged particle in an electric field are all examples of kinetic energy at work.

Objects that are not in motion possess potential energy (the other main type of energy), which is converted to kinetic energy when some force , such as gravity , acts upon the object to set it in motion. Elastic potential energy, for example, is stored in a stretched rubber band; when the rubber band is released, the stored energy is converted to kinetic energy.
Definition: Potential energy, or stored energy, is the ability of a system to do work due to its position or internal structure. For example, gravitational potential energy is a stored energy determined by an object's position in a gravitational field while elastic potential energy is the energy stored in a spring.

Radiant Energy
The radiant energy from the sun is the source of both light and heat energy to photosynthesis. Light energy is harvested by the pigments in order to carry out the breaking down of water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen. This is an energy-intensive process. Sunlight can be split into seven different colours which is called the spectrum. Definition: Heat energy (or just heat) is a form of energy which transfers among particles in a substance (or system) by means of kinetic energy of those particle. In other words, under kinetic theory, the heat is transfered by particles bouncing into each other.

Sound energy is energy produced by sound vibrations. Sound vibrations cause waves of pressure. These waves lead to some level of compression and refraction through which the waves travel. So, sound energy is a form of mechanical energy. Sound energy is energy produced by sound vibrations. Sound vibrations cause waves of pressure. These waves lead to some level of compression and refraction through which the waves travel. So, sound energy is a form of mechanical energy.
Electrical energy or Electromagnetic energy is a form of energy present in any electric field or magnetic field, or in any volume containing electromagnetic radiation. The SI unit of electrical energy is the joule, while the unit used by electrical utility companies is thewatt-hour (Wh) or the kilowatthour (kWh.) Electrical energy is related to the position of an electric charge in an electric field. The electrical energy of a charge Q situated at theelectric potential V equals to the product QV. If V is a potential difference, the same expression gives the energy transformed when the charge moves through the potential difference. A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate (as opposed to a nuclear explosion, where the chain reaction occurs in a split second). Currently all commercial nuclear reactors are based on nuclear fission. For experiments on reactors based on nuclear fusion, see fusion power.

nuclear reactor

Electrical energy

sound

Light