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Energy Transfers
Conservation of Energy
The principle of the conservation of energy says that energy cannot be
created or destroyed. It can only be transformed from one store of energy into
another. Energy can be transformed by:

 Heating: Heating an object transfers energy to the object's internal store

of energy (the sum of the energy in the kinetic and chemical stores of its
particles).
 Waves: Light and other types of waves can transfer energy from one
object to another.
 **Mechanical work: **Energy transferred from one object to another via
a force is an example of mechanical work. When an object falls from a
building, the weight does mechanical work to transfer energy from the
gravitational potential store to the kinetic store. When you push a
wheelchair, energy is transferred to the kinetic store of the wheelchair.
 **Electrical work: **An electrical current transfers energy from one
object to another, such as a battery powering a torch.

Examples of Energy Conversion

Energy is never created or destroyed, only converted from one store to
another. Here are some examples of this process:

 An object accelerated by a constant force: Work is done by a force

on an object. This work is converted to the object's kinetic store.
 An object projected upwards: The object's energy is initially in the
kinetic store as it moves upwards. The object's energy is slowly
transferred from the kinetic store to the gravitational potential store as it
slows down and climbs higher. Once the object reaches its highest
point, all of its energy is in the gravitational potential store. As the object
falls again, energy transfers from the gravitational potential store to the
kinetic store.
 A vehicle slowing down: To begin with, the vehicle's energy is in the
kinetic store. The brakes do work slowing the car down. During this
process, energy is dissipated (lost) through heat and sound.
  A moving object hitting an obstacle: The object's energy is in the
kinetic store at the start because it is moving. When the object collides
with the obstacle, energy is converted to: The kinetic store of the
obstacle (making it move), The thermal store of the object and the
obstacle (the particles in the object and the obstacle vibrate more).
Some energy remains in the object's kinetic store as it moves away after
the collision.
 Bringing water to a boil in an electric kettle: Energy transfers from
the electrical store of the mains power supply to the thermal store of the
water.

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Unit 2: Energy Rules!

Section B. Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer
The two ways that energy can be transferred are by doing work and by heat transfer.

Doing Work 
Energy can be transferred from one object to another by

doing work. To do work requires that an agent exert a  force on an object over

a  distance. When work is done, energy is transferred from the agent to the object,
which results in a change in the object's motion (more specifically, a change in the
object's kinetic energy). 

An Example of How Doing Work Transfers Energy from One Object to

Another
Suppose that a person (the agent)  exerts a force on a wheelbarrow (the object) that is
initially at rest, causing it to move over a certain distance. Recall that the work done on
the wheelbarrow by the person is equal to the product of the person's force multiplied
by the distance traveled by the wheelbarrow. Notice that when the force is exerted on
the wheelbarrow, there's a change in its motion. Its kinetic energy increases. But where
did the wheelbarrow get its kinetic energy? It came from the person exerting the force,
who used chemical energy stored in the food they ate to move the wheelbarrow. In
other words, when the person did work on the wheelbarrow, they transferred a certain
amount of chemical energy to the wheelbarrow, causing it to move. As a result, the
person's store of chemical energy decreases and the wheelbarrow's kinetic energy
increases.
Heat Transfer 
Heat is the transfer of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object. For example, a
lighted match (higher temperature object) will transfer heat to a large pan filled with
lukewarm water (lower temperature object). Note that the actual amount of thermal
energy each object has doesn't matter, as the pan of lukewarm water might have more
thermal energy than the match. What is needed for heat transfer to take place is
a difference in temperature between two objects. Without this difference, no heat
transfer can take place.
Heat can be transferred in three ways: by conduction, by convection, and by radiation.

1. Conduction  is the transfer of energy from one molecule to another

by direct contact. This transfer occurs when molecules hit against each
other, similar to a game of pool where one moving ball strikes another,
causing the second to move. Conduction takes place in solids, liquids, and
gases, but works best in materials that have simple molecules that are
located close to each other. For example, metal is a better conductor than
wood or plastic.
2. Convection  is the movement of heat by a fluid such as water or
air.  The fluid (liquid or gas) moves from one location to another,
transferring heat along with it. This movement of a mass of heated water
or air is called a current.
3. Radiation  is the transfer of heat by electromagnetic waves.  When
you stand in the sun, you are warmed by the electromagnetic waves,
mainly infrared radiation (and to a lesser extent, visible light), that
travels from the sun to Earth. In addition to the sun, light bulbs, irons,
and toasters also transfer heat via radiation. Note that, unlike conduction
or convection, heat transfer by radiation does not need any matter to
help with the transfer.
You can detect evidence of heat transfer. You might see the air shimmering over a
radiator (convection), put your hand on a warm spoon that's been sitting in a hot bowl
of soup (conduction), or notice that the sun shine feels warm on your skin
(radiation). If you need evidence of thermal energy or heat in your life, just feel your
arm. Your body generates heat 24 hours a day
Energy transfers
Systems and stores
Energy can remain in the same store for millions of years or sometimes just for a fraction of a
second. There are energy transfers going on all the time - whenever a system changes there is a
change in the way some or all of the energy is stored.

Transferring energy
In each of these examples energy is transferred by one of the following four types of energy
transfer:

 mechanical work - a force moving an object through a distance

 electrical work - charges moving due to a potential difference
 heating - due to temperature difference caused electrically or by chemical reaction
 radiation - energy transferred as a wave eg light, infrared, sound - the Sun emits light radiation
and infrared radiation
Doing 'work' is the scientific way of saying that energy has been transferred. For example, a
moving car, a firing catapult and a boiling kettle are all doing 'work', as energy is being
transferred.

Energy flow diagrams

Diagrams can be used to show how energy is transferred from one store to another. Two
examples are the transfer diagram and the Sankey diagram.

Transfer diagrams

In transfer diagrams the boxes show the energy stores and the arrows show the energy transfers.
ankey diagrams are really useful when the amount of energy in each of the energy sources is
known. The width of the arrow is drawn to scale to show the amount of energy.

1.