Potential energy

Content

• Types of potential energy
• Examples of potential energy
• Other types of energy

In physics, we call energy the ability to do work.

The energy can be:

• Electrical: the result of a potential difference between two points.
• Light: the part of the energy carried by light that can be perceived with the human eye.
• Mechanics: it is due to the position and movement of a body. It is the sum of potential, kinetic and elastic energy.
• Thermal: force that is released in the form of heat.
• Wind: it is obtained through the wind, it is usually used to transform it into electrical energy.
• Solar: the electromagnetic radiation from the sun is used.
• Nuclear: from a nuclear reaction, from the fusion and nuclear fission.
• Kinetics: the one that an object has because of its movement.
• Chemistry or reaction: from food and fuel.
• Hydraulic or hydroelectric: is the result of the kinetic and potential energy of the water current.
• Sonora: it is produced by the vibration of an object and the air that surrounds it.
• Radiant: comes from electromagnetic waves.
• Photovoltaic: allows the transformation of sunlight into electrical energy.
• Ionic: is the energy needed to separate an electron from its atom.
• Geothermal: the one that comes from the heat of the earth.
• Tidal wave: comes from the movement of the tides.
• Electromagnetic: depends on an electric and magnetic field. It is made up of radiant, caloric and electrical energy.
• Metabolic: it is the energy that organisms obtain from their chemical processes at the cellular level.

See also: Examples of Energy in Everyday Life

When we talk about potential energy we refer to an energy considered within a system. The potential energy of a body is the capacity it has to develop an action depending on the forces that the bodies of the system perform against each other.

In other words, potential energy is the ability to generate work as a consequence of the position of a body.

The potential energy of a physical system is that which the system has stored. It is the work done by forces on a physical system to transfer it from one position to another.

It differs from the Kinetic energy, since the latter only manifests itself when a body is in motion, while potential energy is available when the body is immobile.

It is important to remember that when we talk about the movement or immobility of a body, we always do it from a certain point of view. When we speak of potential energy, we refer to the immobility of a body within the system. For example, a person sitting on a train is immobile from the system point of view of his cabin. However, if viewed from outside the train, the person is moving.

Types of potential energy

• Gravitational potential energy: is the potential energy of a body suspended at a certain height. That is, the energy it will have if it stops being suspended and gravity begins to interact with said body. When we consider the gravitational potential energy of an object near the surface of the earth, its magnitude is equal to the weight of the body times the height.
• Elastic potential energy: it is the energy that a body has stored when it is deformed. The potential energy is different in each material, depending on its elasticity (ability to return to its initial position after its deformation).
• Electrostatic potential energy: the one found in objects that repel or attract each other. The potential energy is greater the closer they are if they repel each other, while it is greater the further they are if they attract each other.
• Chemical potential energy: depends on the structural organization of atoms and molecules.
• Nuclear potential energy: It is due to the intense forces that bind and repel protons and neutrons with each other.

Examples of potential energy

1. Balloons: When we fill a balloon we are forcing a gas to stay in a delimited space. The pressure exerted by that air stretches the walls of the balloon. Once we finish filling the balloon, the system is immobile. However, the compressed air inside the balloon has a large amount of potential energy. If a balloon pops, that energy becomes kinetic and sound energy.
2. An apple on a tree branch: While suspended, it has gravitational potential energy, which will be available as soon as it is detached from the branch.
3. A keg: The kite is suspended in the air thanks to the effect of the wind. If the wind stops, it will have its gravitational potential energy available. The kite is usually higher than the apple on the tree branch, that is, its gravitational potential energy (weight for height) is higher. However, it falls slower than an apple. This is because the air exerts a force opposite to that of the gravity, which is called "friction". As the barrel has a larger surface than the apple, it suffers a greater friction force in its fall.
4. Roller coaster: The roller coaster mobile gets its potential energy as it climbs to the peaks. These peaks function as unstable mechanical equilibrium points. To get to the top, the mobile must use the power of its engine. However, once up, the rest of the journey is made thanks to the gravitational potential energy, which can even make it climb to new peaks.
5. Pendulum: A simple pendulum is a heavy object tied to a shaft by an inextensible thread (which keeps its length constant). If we place the heavy object two meters high and let it go, on the opposite side of the pendulum it will reach exactly two meters high. This is because its gravitational potential energy drives it to resist gravity to the same extent that it was attracted to it. Pendulums eventually stop due to the frictional force of the air, never due to the force of gravity, since that force continues to cause movement indefinitely.
6. Sit on a sofa: The cushion (cushion) of the sofa where we sit is compressed (deformed) by our weight. Elastic potential energy is found in this deformation. If there is a feather on the same cushion, the moment we remove our weight from the cushion, the elastic potential energy will be released and the feather will be expelled by that energy.
7. Battery: Inside a battery there is a certain amount of potential energy that is only activated when joining an electrical circuit.

• It can serve you: Examples of Energy Transformation

Other types of energy