Energy Conversion

Energy can be converted from one form to another.

Examples:

• Gasoline (chemical) is put into our cars, and with the help of electrical energy from a battery, provides mechanical (kinetic) energy.
• Purchased electricity is fed into our TVs and is converted to light and sound.
• Similarly, purchased electricity goes into an electric bulb and is converted to visible light and heat energy.
• The image below shows examples of more conversions.

Examples of Day-to-Day Energy Transformations

Click link to expand for a text description of figure

Chemical Energy is converted to Electrical Energy (stove), Kinetic Energy (car), Electricity (power plant), and Mechanical Energy (space shuttle). Electrical Energy is converted to Kinetic Energy. Electricity is converted to Light (light bulb) and Sound and Light (TV). Chemical food energy is converted to Energy to Work (person running).

Credit: Examples of Day-to-Day Energy Transformations © Penn State is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 [1]