Changes in Energy Storage

First, What is an Energy Store?

So, I mentioned that there are different types of energy. How are they stored?

To begin with, an energy store can't be created or destroyed. It can, however, be transferred, dissipated or stored in different ways.

The different types of energy store include:

• magnetic
• internal (thermal)
• chemical
• kinetic
• electrostatic
• elastic potential
• gravitational potential
• nuclear

Let's have a look at each of these.

But first, here's a YouTube video from Cognito about energy storage:

Magnetic

Magnetic energy is where you have two poles that repel (so, South and South, North and North) have been pushed together. The same is also said for two attracting poles that are being pulled apart.

Some examples of these include:

• fridge magnets
• compasses
• maglev trains - these use magnetic levitation

Internal (Thermal)

Internal energy store is a hybrid type of store, in that it is made up of two different types of energy. It uses kinetic and potential energy. It depends on the amount of energy a substance has. What is measured is how much molecules in the substance or object is moving around. In a liquid, for example, this would mean the molecules are are moving steadily in a flowing fashion. They have kinetic energy, and the potential to move faster, given some sort of push.

Some examples of these include:

• human bodies
• hot coffee
• stoves or hobs
• ice particles

Chemical

This is very finite in size, but chemical energy stores are the reaction of chemicals. The bonds between two molecules define the chemical energy given.

Some examples of these include:

• foods
• muscles
• electrical cells

Kinetic

Possibly the most well known type of energy, kinetic is the energy given to a moving object. It's that simple with this one, but it does also hold some potential energy, as it depends on how fast an object is moving, to how much kinetic energy is used/stored.

Some examples of these include:

• runners
• buses
• comets

Electrostatic

We've all done it. Get a balloon, and rub it on your body. Now, put it near your hair. Assuming you don't have any hair product in your hair, it will move your hair to the balloon, the close you get to it.

This is electrostatic energy. It works the other way as well. So, it is the repelling of charges away from each other.

Some examples of these include:

• thunderclouds
• Van de Graaf generator (pictured)
• Balloon

Elastic Potential

When an object gets squashed, or stretched, this is known as elastic potential energy. You can do this simply by using some Blu-tac, or an elastic band.

Other examples of these include:

• drawn catapults
• compressed springs
• inflated balloons

Gravitational Potential

Go get an apple. Hold it up as high as you can in the air. That's it. That is gravitational potential. If you drop the apple from there, it turns in to kinetic energy. Gravitational potential energy is the area surrounding the apple at height.

Some examples of these include:

• aeroplanes
• kites
• mugs on a table

Interesting fact: Sir Isaac Newton did not discover the law of gravity with an apple. He simply discovered it through use of other objects that were sitting around him at the time.

Nuclear

Nuclear isn't just a form of creating energy like a wind farm or hydroelectric dam does, although we often just associate it with this. It's the process of splitting the atom for the energy within that atom. The nuclear aspect is the energy stores in the nucleus of an atom.

Some examples of these include:

• uranium nuclear power
• nuclear reactors

End Note

There are many different types of energy stores, and they all have their uses, whether for movement, or the potential of movement.