Potential energy puzzle

Summary

-Potential energy changes only when the location of molecules with respect to a reference point in an energy field changes.

-Potential energy changes when a molecule is under stress.

-In simple words when Coulomb forces between molecules increase as the molecules come closer, the potential energy increases. The opposite happens when the Coulomb forces between molecules decrease with molecules going away from one another.

-When the work is + W, the surroundings add potential energy to the system.When the work is - W, the system supplies potential energy which converts to kinetic energy to perform the work of expansion. The sum of potential + kinetic energy remains constant.

-At every temperature, there is a fixed amount of kinetic energy available which is the heat capacity of the substance. When the kinetic energy reaches the limiting point the temperature increase stops. This marks the phase change with potential energy coming into dominance.

Potential energy puzzle

Potential energy represents latent heat, whereas kinetic energy is a manifestation of sensible heat.

Kinetic energy and potential energy are the two main categories of energy. Potential energy is more difficult to understand intuitively than kinetic energy, The energy connected to motion is called kinetic energy. The formula for it is 1/2 m v^2, where m stands for mass and v for velocity. The term "potential" itself can be confusing when referring to potential energy. "Potential" refers to the ability to become energy in the future, without actually being an energy. An important distinction between kinetic energy and potential energy is while potential energy is a reservoir of energy it has no capacity to do work by itself So it is termed ‘potential’ energy meaning though it has the potential to become energy it is not an energy. It is the kinetic energy that performs ‘work’ by borrowing energy from the potential energy. Potential energy is specific to a location. Potential energy can change only when the location of a substance changes with respect to a reference point.

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?What is energy?

Energy is most commonly defined as the capacity for work. Put differently, all entities possess energy. When it comes to energy, producing or bringing about change is another name for working. Every time work is done, energy is either transferred or transformed.

How is energy born in a substance?

The energy is born in a substance at the atomic level consisting of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Atoms possess huge amounts of energy to overcome attractions and repulsions of oppositely charged particles and prevent an imbalance of positive and negative charges while keeping an atom neutral. This is the beginning of the creation of energy within a substance. This is the creation of stored energy within a substance. This is the beginning of the birth pf potential energy. A fraction of this energy is used by atoms to supply the kinetic energy of motions. Rest remains as stored energy within atoms. The kinetic energy is a function of temperature, KE = ? KT. The average KE of a gas particle has 1/2kT per energy mode (k is Boltzmann's constant, and T is its absolute temperature in Kelvin).

What does this mean?

It means that at every temperature, there is untapped potential energy with a magnitude that depends on the size of the atom and a limited fixed amount of kinetic energy that the temperature allows the substance to possess.

This further means that the kinetic energy because of its temperature dependence has only a limited capacity to perform work. At any temperature, the kinetic energy can only perform the amount of work that the prevailing temperature or the heat capacity of the substance allows.

Creation of molecules by potential energy

As atoms begin the creation of molecules things start becoming complex. Every two dissimilar atoms have their atomic structure and polarity which makes the molecular polar like in H2O, H has a positive and O has a negative charge. Consequently, this gives birth to intermolecular attraction and repulsion and generates intermolecular bonds. Potential energy expands its storage space for more energy as molecules form. However, the role of the potential energy still remains as an energy reservoir without doing any ‘work’. In a true sense, as potential energy is still not fully converted energy.

Potential energy: The energy supplier

The potential energy supplies energy only when the location of the potential energy carrier changes concerning a reference point.

Potential energy changes only by external intervention

Conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy and reverse

When a gas is compressed against intermolecular attraction, the molecules change their locations and come closer generating larger collisions. In the process, the kinetic energy adds energy to potential energy. The gas becomes hot.

Similarly, when a gas expands, the molecules go away from one another, they change their locations, and the potential energy supplies energy to kinetic energy, and the gas cools.

However, every substance has a limited capacity to create kinetic energy which is fixed by the substance’s temperature. This is what we call the heat capacity of the substances.

When a substance exhausts it is kinetic energy

Potential energy represents latent heat, whereas kinetic energy is a manifestation of sensible heat.

At saturation point, a substance's kinetic energy is exhausted and temperature increases cease. Phase transition and the ascendancy of potential energy occur upon the exhaustion of kinetic energy.

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