Energy Types

Matter is one of two components of the universe. Energy is the other. Energy is the ability to do work.

Energy can take several forms, such as heat energy, light energy, electrical energy, and mechanical energy. But two general categories of energy are especially important to chemists: kinetic energy and potential energy.

Kinetic energy

Kinetic energy is energy of motion. A baseball flying through the air toward a batter has a large amount of kinetic energy — just ask anyone who’s ever been hit with a baseball. Chemists sometimes study moving particles, especially gases, because the kinetic energy of these particles helps determine whether a particular reaction may take place. As particles collide, kinetic energy may be transferred from one particle to another, causing chemical reactions.

Kinetic energy can be converted into other types of energy. In a hydroelectric dam, the kinetic energy of the falling water is converted into electrical energy. In fact, a scientific law — the law of conservation of energy — states that in ordinary chemical reactions (or physical processes), energy is neither created nor destroyed, but it can be converted from one form to another.

Potential energy

Potential energy is stored energy. Objects may have potential energy stored in terms of their position. A ball up in a tree has potential energy due to its height. If that ball were to fall, that potential energy would be converted to kinetic energy. Potential energy due to position isn’t the only type of potential energy. Chemists are far more interested in the energy stored (potential energy) in chemical bonds, which are the forces that hold atoms together in compounds.

Human bodies store energy in chemical bonds. When you need that energy, your body can break those bonds and release it. The same is true of the fuels people commonly use to heat their homes and run their automobiles. Energy is stored in these fuels — gasoline, for example — and is released when chemical reactions take place.