Energy and Battery Types | Findaso

Approach

People use energy for many activities, such as walking and cycling, moving vehicles, cooking and lighting. Although energy is examined under two general headings, potential and kinetic, it appears in different daily life forms such as heat energy, light energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, and nuclear energy. Energy types can be converted from one form to another form. For example, the food a person consumes contains chemical energy, and the human body stores this energy for use during movements and metabolic activities. Chemical energy stored in coal or natural gas or kinetic energy of flowing water can be converted into electrical energy and light and heat energy. The potential energy in the form of energy that objects have due to their position. Mechanical energy, chemical energy, nuclear energy, and gravitational energy are energy types in this category.

What are the Energy Types?

Mechanical Energy: It is energy stored on objects by tension. Examples of mechanical energy are the energy stored in the compressed spring and stretched rubber band.

Chemical Energy: It is the energy stored in the bonds of atoms or molecules. Potential energy found in batteries, biomass, oil, natural gas, and coal are examples of chemical energy. Chemical energy is converted into heat energy when the wood is burned in the fireplace or when gasoline is burned in a car engine.

Gravitational Energy: It is the energy that objects store due to their height. The higher and heavier the object, the more gravitational energy it stores. Hydroelectric power plants are the best example of gravitational energy. The force of gravity causes the water to fall from high elevation to the turbine and generates electricity. The rapid acceleration of the bicycle while riding down a steep slope is also the result of converting gravitational energy into motion energy.

Nuclear Energy: The potential energy stored in the nucleus of an atom holds the nucleus together. When the core breaks down, a large amount of energy is released. Electricity is produced by using this energy in nuclear power plants.

Kinetic Energy is the type of energy that an object possesses due to being in motion. The motion of waves, electrons, atoms and molecules, substances, and objects can be classified in this category.

Heat Energy: It is the energy released due to the movement of atoms and molecules in matter. The faster atoms and molecules move, the greater the heat released. The heat energy accumulated under the earth's crust is called geothermal energy .

Electric Energy: The energy resulting from the movement of negatively charged particles (electrons) in the atoms. Lightning strikes, a phenomenon of nature, is a striking example of electrical energy.

What is the Importance of Energy Batteries?

Energy batteries have many important roles in our daily lives, from providing preliminary power to run our car engines, acting as a backup electricity source in telecommunications, public transport, and medical processes. Besides, batteries help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by efficiently storing energy produced from traditional and renewable energy sources. The fact that renewable energy sources such as the sun and wind display a drastically changing nature due to the effects of global warming, the importance of energy storage increases even further.

What are Energy Storage Methods?

Energy can be stored in many different ways. The main storage methods are as follows:

Pumped storage hydropower: This method uses electricity to pump water to a reservoir at a higher point. When needed, water is released from the reservoir and electricity is generated through the turbine.

Compressed air: Using electricity, the air is compressed to high pressures and stored in underground caves, and released when energy is needed and used in electricity generation.

Batteries: Batteries can store energy until it is needed. These systems can be produced with lithium, lead, nickel, and sodium-based technologies.

In addition to these technologies, new technologies include flow batteries , supercapacitors , and superconductor magnetic energy storage.

Results

Although energy is examined generally as potential and kinetic, it appears in different daily life forms such as heat energy, light energy, mechanical energy.