Now we all know it’s boring to just hear
laws and rules about energy, so let’s get
our hands dirty with a good story.
It starts when radiant energy from the sun
reaches the earth’s atmosphere.
We know that it gets hotter and some of that
energy is used by plants for photosynthesis.
Then the plants photosynthesise and turn the
radiant energy into glucose, which is chemical
energy.
The lettuce starts getting bigger but you’re
hungry, so you pick the lettuce.
And since your body is warm from the radiant
energy in the atmosphere, and all the lettuce
picking, you decide to have something cold
for lunch: a salad!
The chemical energy that is still stored in
the lettuce is transferred to your body.
Now you feel strong!
So you decide to get on your bicycle and go
for a ride.
As you pedal, the chemical energy from the
lettuce turns into kinetic energy in your
legs, causing the bicycle to move.
Some of the kinetic energy is converted to
thermal energy, which is why you get warm
after pedaling for a while.
After converting all this chemical energy
into kinetic and thermal energy, you return
home.
It’s simple.
Energy is moving from the sun, to the lettuce,
to your body and then used to pedal the bicycle.
But when you get home, it’s dark already,
so you turn on your dynamo.
The dynamo, or generator, produces electrical
energy to power your house as well as thermal
energy to warm you up.
Some of that electrical energy will then be
used when you turn on your stove to cook dinner.
The electrical energy is then converted to
thermal energy to cook your food.
So as you can see, the flow of energy keeps
going on and on, with energy converting between
different forms throughout a regular day.
Even as you watch this, you are using chemical
energy that you accumulated from everything
you ate today.
It’s a never-ending process!
And that’s an example of how energy is converted
between different forms.
So the next time you do a series of actions
think about how energy is being converted.
You’ll be amazed at what you discover!
