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Mechanical Energy
Have you ever wondered how a jet aircraft lifts its tremendous
weight off the ground, or what gives a runner the stamina to reach the
finish line in a race? In order to answer all these questions we must
talk about the transformation of one sort of energy into another.
The jet aircraft gets its power from jet turbines. These powerful
jet engines create a high-pressure stream of very hot gases that push the
aircraft forward as they leave the engine. This is an example of heat
being transformed into movement. This is sometimes described as
Mechanical Energy. However, this transformation could not take place
without the fuel that the aircraft gets within its wings or fuselage.
Fuel is considered a chemical energy.
Fuel can take the form of gases, solids or liquids. When fuels
combine with oxygen from the air, they release their stored energy as heat.
We recognize this process as burning. The individual relies on food for
fuel which contains energy-giving substances that our bodies can store
until we need this energy to use our muscles. When we do use our muscles
within us, we may not always be sure that heat is given off. Our bodies
do not burst into flames but the perspiration on our skin is a clue to
what is happening.
The movement of the windsurfer has a different explanation.
The windsurfer is propelled along by a sail which collects mechanical
energy from the winds that sweep along the water. This energy has been
produced by the sun which warms the earth's surface and sets the air above
in motion. The sun's heat comes to the earth as a form of radiant energy.
When the heat reaches the surface of the earth, it causes the land or seas
to rise in temperature.
The sun is very hot. Infact, the center of the sun can reach
temperatures of up to 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. This is because of
another kind of energy reaction where new substances are continually being
created as others are being destroyed. This reaction is known to us as
the Nuclear Reaction.
Today we are trying to imitate this reaction in improving our energy
supply. Scientists have calculated that the sun has enough fuel to go on
producing energy at its present rate for about five billion years.
On earth man-made nuclear reactions are used to produce a form of
power we know as electricity. Electricity can be transformed into other
kinds of energy such as heat, light and radio waves. Humans have also
used the idea of nuclear reactions as a type of weapon. We call this
powerful weapon the Atomic Bomb. Electrical energy can also be used to
produce laser beams.
This involves energy being concentrated to a specific narrow point where
the impact of so much power creates heat able to cut through metals.
Bibliography
Discovering Energy, Frazer, Frank Trewin Copplestone Books Ltd, 1981.
.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 6 Encyclopedia Britannica, 1979.
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