Thermal Or Heat Energy

Everything Has Energy

Everything in the solar system has energy an object is said to have energy if some of its particles are moving. Thermal or heat energy is a term used to describe an action which forces the molecules in the object to move faster, therefore creating heat. This can happen in several ways, including mechanical energy, chemical energy, electricity, solar energy, and friction.

Chemical Energy

Chemical energy can be described as the separate parts of one object mixing with another to create something new as this relates to heat energy, when a person eats food, the body is able to send that food from the mouth to the stomach, and all around the body to finally create energy which fuels and heats the body.

Electricity

Electricity is a fast moving current of energy which is usually harnessed and stored for later use and it can be created in a variety of ways. For electricity to be considered heat energy it only needs to be connected with a conductor most metals serve as a conductor and when electricity touches the conductor, the molecules in the conductor will move faster, creating heat.

Mechanical Energy

Mechanical energy is the kind of energy created by an object in motion a good example of this type of heat energy is playing with a hula hoop, when the hula hoop is spun on a person’s arm, some of the energy from twirling the hoop is converted into energy which heats the hoop where it connects with the person’s arm.

Solar Energy

The rays of the sun are solar energy, it must travel millions of miles to reach our planet, and once it does it serves many purposes. One purpose is heat energy the sun heats the surface of the earth and causes temperatures to rise. As temperatures rise, living things are able to grow heat energy is also responsible for photosynthesis, plants aren’t able to make their own food with out the help of the suns rays.

Friction
Friction is one of the most common forms of energy. When two objects rub against another they cause heat energy or friction. An example of friction can be found in plate tectonics when the earth’s plates rub against each other they form heat energy and pressure and when this pressure builds, it must escape in some way and the result is usually an earth quake or a volcanic eruption.

Heat energy is all around each person every day, as we make energy everywhere we go, and energy is present in everything in the universe even in the coldest reaches of space, the objects will have moving molecules and will therefore have energy.

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