What is Energy?

Inphysics,energyisapropertyofobjectswhichcanbetransferredtoother
objects orconvertedintodifferentforms.The "ability of a system to
performwork"isacommondescription,butitismisleadingbecauseenergy
is not necessarily availabletodo work.Forinstance,inSIunits,energyis
measured injoules, and one joule is defined "mechanically", being the
energy transferred to an object by themechanicalworkof moving it a
distance of 1metreagainst aforceof 1newton.However, there are many
other definitions of energy,depending on the context, such as thermal
energy,radiantenergy,electromagnetic,nuclear,etc.,wheredefinitionsare
derivedthatarethemostconvenient.
Common energy forms include thekineticenergyof a moving object, the
potentialenergystoredbyanobject'spositioninaforcefield(gravitational
,electricormagnetic), theelasticenergystored by stretching solid objects,
thechemicalenergyreleased when a fuel burns, theradiantenergycarried
by light, and thethermalenergydue to an object'stemperature. All of the
manyformsofenergyare convertible to other kinds of energy. In
Newtonianphysics, there is a universal law ofconservationofenergy
whichsaysthatenergycanbeneithercreatednorbedestroyed;however,it
canchangefromoneformtoanother.

Energyisoneofthemajorinputsfortheeconomicdevelopmentofany
country.Inthecaseofthedevelopingcountries,theenergysector
assumesacriticalimportanceinviewoftheever-increasingenergy
needsrequiringhugeinvestmentstomeetthem.
Energy can be classified into several types based on the
followingcriteria:
PrimaryandSecondaryenergy
CommercialandNoncommercialenergy
RenewableandNon-Renewableenergy

Primary and Secondary Energy

Primary energy sources are

those that are either found or
stored in nature. Common
primary energy sources are coal,
oil, natural gas, and biomass
(such as wood). Other primary
energy sources available include
nuclear energy from radioactive
substances, thermal energy
stored in earths interior, and
potential energy due to earths
gravity. The major primary and
secondary energy sources are
shown in Figure 1.1
Primary energy sources are
mostly converted in industrial
utilities into secondary energy
sources; for example coal, oil or
gas converted into steam and
electricity.
Primary energy can also be used
directly. Some energy sources
have non-energy uses, for
example coal or natural gas can
be used as a feedstock in
fertiliser plants.

Commercial Energy and Non Commercial Energy

Commercial Energy
The energy sources that are available in the market for a
definite price are known as commercial energy. By far the
most important forms of commercial energy are electricity,
coal and refined petroleum products. Commercial energy
forms the basis of industrial, agricultural, transport and
commercial development in the modern world. In the
industrialized
countries,
commercialized
fuels
are
predominant source not only for economic production, but
also for many household tasks of general population.
Examples: Electricity, lignite, coal, oil, natural gas etc.
Non-Commercial Energy
The energy sources that are not available in the commercial
market for a price are classified as non-commercial energy.
Non-commercial energy sources include fuels such as
firewood, cattle dung and agricultural wastes, which are
traditionally gathered, and not bought at a price used
especially in rural households. These are also called
traditional fuels. Non-commercial energy is often ignored in
energy accounting.
Example: Firewood, agro waste in rural areas; solar energy
for water heating, electricity generation, for drying grain,
fish and fruits; animal power for transport, threshing, lifting
water for irrigation, crushing sugarcane; wind energy for
lifting water and electricity generation.

Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is energy obtained from sources that are

essentially inexhaustible. Examples of renewable resources
include wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, tidal
power and hydroelectric power (See Figure 1.2). The most
important feature of renewable energy is that it can be
harnessed without the release of harmful pollutants. Nonrenewable energy is the conventional fossil fuels such as
coal, oil and gas, which are likely to deplete with time.

Units of Energy
In 1843James Prescott Jouleindependently discovered the
mechanical equivalent in a series of experiments. The most
famous of them used the "Joule apparatus": a descending
weight, attached to a string, caused rotation of a paddle
immersed in water, practically insulated from heat transfer.
It showed that the gravitationalpotential energylost by the
weight in descending was equal to theinternal energy
gained by the water throughfrictionwith the paddle.
In theInternational System of Units(SI), the unit of energy is
the joule, named after James Prescott Joule. It is a
derived unit. It is equal to the energy expended (orwork
done) in applying a force of one newton through a distance
of one metre. However energy is also expressed in many
other units not part of the SI, such asergs,calories,
British Thermal Units,kilowatt-hoursandkilocalories, which
require a conversion factor when expressed in SI units.
The SI unit of energy rate (energy per unit time) is thewatt,
which is a joule per second. Thus, one joule is one wattsecond, and 3600 joules equal one watt-hour. TheCGS
energy unit is theergand theimperial and US customary
unit is thefoot pound. Other energy units such as the
electronvolt,food calorieor thermodynamickcal(based on
the temperature change of water in a heating process), and
BTUare used in specific areas of science and commerce.

Small & large calories

Small calorie(cal) is the energy needed to increase 1 gram
of water by 1C at a pressure of 1 atmosphere.
Large calorie(Cal) is the energy needed to increase 1 kg of
water by 1C at a pressure of 1 atmosphere.
Large calorieis also calledfood calorieand is used as a unit
of food energy.
How to convert from joules to calories
Joules to thermochemical calories
1 calth= 4.184 J
The energy in thermochemical caloriesE(calth)is equal to the
energy in joulesE(J)divided by 4.184:
E(cal)=E(J)/ 4.184
Example
Convert 600 joules to thermochemical calories.
E(cal)= 600J / 4.184 = 143.4 calth
Joules to large/food calories
1 Cal = 4.184 kJ = 4184 J
The energy in large/food caloriesE(Cal)is equal to the energy
in joulesE(J)divided by 4184:
E(Cal)=E(J)/ 4184
Example
Convert 600 joules to food calories.
E(Cal)= 600J / 4184 = 0.1434 Cal