Thermal energy is energy possessed by an object or system due to the movement of

particles within the object or the system. Thermal energy is one of various types of energy,
where 'energy' can be defined as 'the ability to do work.' Work is the movement of an
object due to an applied force. A system is simply a collection of objects within some
boundary. Therefore, thermal energy can be described as the ability of something to do work
due to the movement of its particles.

Because thermal energy is due to the movement of particles, it is a type of kinetic energy,
which is the energy due to motion. Thermal energy results in something having an internal
temperature, and that temperature can be measured - for example, in degrees Celsius or
Fahrenheit on a thermometer. The faster the particles move within an object or system, the
higher the temperature that is recorded.

Example:

 A cup of hot chocolate is warmer than a glass of cold chocolate milk. The hot
chocolate has more thermal energy than the chocolate milk. When the chocolate
milk is put on a hot stove, the milk’s temperature rises. This happens because
the milk absorbs thermal energy from the stove.
 When hot chocolate cools down, does it gain or lose thermal energy? You can
explain that it loses thermal energy because the milk is no longer absorbing
thermal energy from the rising temperature of the stove.
 In room Heaters
 cooking our foods in oven and stove
 Drying our cloths in sun
 A home is heated
 water is heated for a shower
 sun feels good on our shoulders
 shirts can be ironed
 toast is toasted
 a cake is baked
In General, Anything that feels warm is emitting thermal energy. It just means "heat" or
"warmth."

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François Cartier, Consultant in data architecture. B. Sc. Chem. (1973) at U. de Montreal, Canada.
Answered Jan 13 2017 · Author has 102 answers and 32.2k answer views
Thermal energy is energy that manifests as heat which is transformed with loss, directly or
indirectly, into other forms of energy, like mechanical, electrical, etc. A good example is
geothermal energy, where the heat transferred from the magma to an underground
reservoir of water causes vapor to turn a turbine (mechanical) that will generate electricity
through rotating magnetic fields causing a flux in coils. Another good example is chemo-
thermal energy where the energy of an exothermic chemical reaction that involves the
transformation of minute amounts of matter into energy can be used as a source of heat, like
in the oxidation of hydrocarbons, for mechanical (in a car) or electricity generating (in
emergency generators) purposes. Electrothermal heat is caused by electrons receiving
enough energy from an electrical current to make them jump into a higher orbit and then
releasing photons in the infrared range as they jump back into a lower orbit, like in the coils
of an electric range.

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Steve Swanekamp, Naval Research Lab at Plasma Physics (1990-present)

Answered Dec 22 2016 · Author has 102 answers and 28.2k answer views
The sun burns hydrogen but it radiates thermal energy as well as light. We feel this thermal
energy as heat that warms us here on earth. Also a tungsten filament when heated by
electrical current glows white hot. This was the source of light that Edison used in the first
light bulbs. Thermal energy is only useful when different from its surroundings. This is
because heat flows for hotter areas toward colder areas. This movement of heat is
responsible for our weather.

1k Views

Bill Brassfield, studied at Oregon State University

Answered Oct 11 2016 · Author has 1.2k answers and 934.3k answer views
Technically, anything that has a temperature above Absolute Zero (0 degrees Kelvin) has
“thermal energy” in it. That means *everything* — all of the mass in our observable
universe, without exception — has thermal energy in it, because Absolute Zero (the
temperature at which all thermal molecular vibrations come to a complete halt) can’t be
reached.

Normally, when we think of “thermal energy”, we think of “hot things” — fire, steam, lava
from volcanoes, rapidly-decaying lumps of radioactive matter, the sun. And yes, these do
indeed have significant thermal energy in them.

What is often more useful to us is the *distribution* of thermal energy. Suppose, for
example, that we have a huge reservoir of hot water (near boiling point), and an equally
sized reservoir of very cold water (near freezing). Compare this to two additional reservoirs
of equal size which have “very warm” water in them (at 50 degrees Celsius, the midpoint
between freezing and boiling). Which setup is more useful to us?

It turns out that the hot and cold reservoirs are more useful to us than the equally very
warm reservoirs because we can take advantage of the *flow* of heat — known as heat
transfer — to power an engine known as a “Carnot Engine”. The Carnot Engine is driven by
the difference in temperature between a hot reservoir and a cold reservoir. Over time, as this
engine produces power (to run a house, a city block, or a whole city), the hot reservoir will
cool down, and the cold reservoir will warm up. As their temperatures get closer and closer
to each other, the Carnot Engine has a more difficult time producing power, and by the time
they are at very nearly equal temperatures, the Carnot Engine simply won’t function any
more.

One commonly-used form of energy (offered by the Energy industry) is Geothermal Energy.
Water is pumped deep into the ground where it’s extremely hot, and it’s converted into
steam. This steam drives a turbine (which drives an electric generator called an alternator).
Eventually, this steam is run through a condenser to convert it back to water, and the water
gets re-circulated to the hot underground to repeat the cycle. The condenser must be cooled
by a “cold reservoir”, by the way — often a cooling pond with a very large surface area.
(NOTE: I am not a Geothermal Energy expert, so I have only described the water/steam
cycle very superficially. But the point is that there must be both a hot reservoir (hot rocks
underground) and a cold reservoir (a large cooling pond typically) to keep the cycle in
motion and producing energy.)
It’s important to point out that even though a huge lump of matter at really high
temperature contains a lot of “absolute” thermal energy, a couple of smaller and much
cooler lumps of matter which are at different temperatures may contain less “absolute”
thermal energy but more “available” thermal energy because it’s possible to use a Carnot
Engine cycle (at least in theory) to take advantage of the flow of heat from the warmer mass
to the cooler mass. So although there might be very little change in the “absolute” thermal
energy when two objects of different temperatures are placed together and allowed to “even-
out” their temperatures, there is a significant increase in entropy when this happens. As the
system reaches a higher state of entropy (a more even temperature distribution), there will
be less “available” thermal energy to drive any sort of engine.

14.9k Views

Robert J. Kolker
Answered Jul 22 2015 · Author has 18.6k answers and 16.3m answer views
Thermal Energy aka Heat Energy. Any energy that spontaneously moves from a body of
higher temperature to a body of lower temperature. That would include radiant
energy such as the sun, glowing hot bodies, energy from exothermic reactions. This is
different from mechanical energy, the energy of motion. A gas in which the molecules are
bumping back and forth have energy (kinetic energy) of a non-thermal sort. Body with
rapidly moving molecules transmit energy by conduction or convection.
2.4k Views

Thomas Clark
Answered Nov 30 2015 · Author has 730 answers and 1.1m answer views
As thermal means heatso thermal energy is known as heat energy which is generatred by
movement of particles of an objects.

Examples
Some of its great examples are following:
The thermal energy we get from sun, heats up our our atmosphere.
Burning of propane in grills gives off thermal energy.
When water is placed on hot stove, water's tiny particles movement causes thermal
energy. And the temperature of water is increased.

I hope you find this helpful!

3.6k Views · View 2 Upvoters

Jagjit Singh, former Product Manager at Seagate Data Recovery

Answered Dec 22, 2016 · Author has 226 answers and 404.4k answer views
Please look here for brief explanation: What is Thermal Energy? - Definition & Examples -
Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
Jagjit.

918 Views

Tom Barbey, chemical engineer and educator

Answered Dec 23, 2017 · Author has 117 answers and 78.4k answer views
Originally Answered: What are some usages of thermal energy?
Among other things, thermal energy can be used to produce electricity, …so any usages you
can think of using electricity will also apply to thermal energy. Even directly from the earth,
geothermal energy can, and is, being used to heat homes and other buildings as well. There
are numerous books and papers covering this topic.

266 Views · View 1 Upvoter

Robert Clouse, Disable Veteran at Cincinnati, OH (2000-present)

Answered Nov 11, 2016 · Author has 3.9k answers and 9.1m answer views
One of the biggest examples is a Stirling Engine. It is designed to directly convert to work
locations of very different temperature into mechanical energy.

Stirling engine - Wikipedia

1.3k Views

Ali Abdulla, Author of Quantum Mechanics book& Nuclear Physics book(2015) in Englsh,US
Answered Jan 8, 2017 · Author has 8.5k answers and 1.3m answer views
There are many, you can read that in the WIKIPEDEA,please.There are many resources for
thermal energy.

620 Views

Tehsin Ud Din Khan Wazir, Electrical Engineer

Answered Nov 7, 2016 · Author has 225 answers and 1.2m answer views
Thermal energy is the movement of particles within matter and is found in the sun, magma,
heated water and even the human body.

1.1k Views

Electrical Engineer, Electrical Engineer at Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (2016-present)
Answered Apr 23, 2018
 One of the example is otec

To know more

120 Views

Tony Marmont, former Owner at Carters Drinks Group (1946-1992)

Answered Jan 19, 2017 · Author has 77 answers and 21.7k answer views
Hot Rocks geothermal bore hole ,tony

420 Views
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