Science For kids

This magazine will show you what Energy is, its impact to our lives, the different forms of it and latest topics and many more.

Energy is the capacity to do work.

The international recognized unit for energy is the Joule (J), named after James Joule. He was the scientist who for the first time demonstrated the rule that work can be converted into heat. Any form of energy can be transformed into another form. The process of energy transformation is also known as energy conversion.

Law of conservation of energy states that energy can change form, but it cannot be created or destroyed. That means the total amount of energy stays the always the same.

The main energy forms are: radiant (light) energy chemical energy mechanical energy nuclear energy electrical energy heat (thermal) energy energy of sound

Light Energy
Light energy can be described as the potential of work that is inherent from light. It can also be viewed as a means by which electromagnetic radiation is perceived from the natural light sources.

What Is Light Energy

Just asking what is light energy opens you up to a flood of other questions trying to for scientist up to the 1950s. narrow down the context that you are asking the question in. In photometry, luminous energy is the perceived energy of light. The speed of light is about 300,000 km/s. To put that in perspective, when you watch the sun set, it has actually been 10 minutes since that light left the Sun. Light energy is measured with two main sets of units: radiometry measures light power at all wavelengths and photometry measures light with wavelength weighted with respect to a standardized model of human brightness perception. Light exerts a physical pressure on objects in its path. This is explained by the particle nature of light in which photons strike and transfer their momentum. Light pressure is equal to the power of the light beam divided by the speed of light. The effect of light pressure is negligible for everyday objects. Light is all around us. It has the ability to tan or burn our skins, it can be harnessed to me lt metals, or heat our food. Light energy posed a huge challenge for scientist up to the 1950s.

Sound Energy
Sound is a mechanical wave and as such requires a medium to travel through. The sound energy in a volume of interest is defined as the sum of the potential and kinetic energy densities integrated over that volume

Ear-piercing sounds harvested for energy

Engineers have figured how to harvest energy from sound, which could soon lead to quieter jet engines and factory machines, and perhaps a new way to generate wind power. Over time, Horowitz and his colleagues realised the incredible roar of the jet engine, which revs at more than 130 decibels (enough to induce pain), could be changed into electrical energy. Horowitz says the advantage of a sound-powered sensor is that you don't have to use batteries or wires to run the engine sensor, making it easier to maintain. In 2011, a Dutch engineering group figured out an application of harvesting energy from the sound of wind as it blows across a small opening (like the sound make by blowing over the top of a beer bottle). While it does sound a little far-fetched, such a device -- if replicated on a larger scale -- would have fewer moving parts than existing wind turbines, says Horowitz.

Chemical Energy
Chemical Energy is energy stored in the bonds of chemical compounds (atoms and molecules). It is released in a chemical reaction, often producing heat as a by-product (exothermic reaction).

Alternative fuel vehicle

Alternative Fuel Vehicle refers to a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than traditional gasoline or diesel; any method of powering an engine that does not involve petroleum. Due to a combination of heavy taxes on fuel, particularly in Europe, tightening environmental laws, particularly in California, and the possibility of further restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, work on alternative power systems for vehicles has become a high priority for governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world. Current research and development is largely centered on "hybrid" vehicles that use both electric power and internal combustion.

Nuclear
Energy

Nuclear energy usually means the part of the energy of an atomic nucleus, which can be released by fusion or fission or radioactive decay

Japan Pushes to Revive Moribund Nuclear Energy Sector TOKYO The government of Shinzo Abe made its biggest push yet to revive its nuclear energy program on Tuesday, announcing details of a national plan that designates atomic power as an important long-term electricity source The plan also says that Japan will ultimately decide on the appropriate size of its nuclear program after taking into account its future energy needs, as well as the countrys commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which have surged with the decline of nuclear power. The wording, Japanese news outlets noted, left the door open for Japan to add to its current nuclear system.

Mechanical Energy
It is the energy associated with the motion and position of an object

New small-scale generator produces alternating current by stretching zinc oxide wires
Researchers have developed a new type of small-scale electric power generator able to produce alternating current through the cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires encapsulated in a flexible plastic substrate with two ends bonded. The new "flexible charge pump" generator is the fourth generation of devices designed to produce electrical current by using the piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide structures to harvest mechanical energy from the environment. For the future, Wang sees the family of small-scale generators enabling development of a new class self-powered wireless sensing systems. The devices could gather information, store it and transmit the data all without an external power source.

Electrical Energy
is energy newly derived from electrical potential energy

Ions: The Body's Electrical Energy Source

Energy is an important factor in the function of our bodies. We often say, "I am lacking energy" or "I wish I had more energy." But, what is energy? Simply defined, energy is the capacity to do work, or to place matter into motion. It is the use of energy by our body that creates the quality we call "life." Electricity is a fundamental entity of nature consisting of negative and positive particles exhibiting attractions and repulsions. These attractions and repulsions manifest themselves as movements of these charged particles, or in other words--electrical current. This form of energy plays a critical role in the proper function of our body. Ions, as we can see, play an important role in the body. Calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and copper ions are some key ions that participate in the body's electrical events. Potassium is the major positive ion inside the cell. Sodium is the major positive ion found in the fluid outside the cell. Ionic chlorine is the most abundant negative ion. Imbalances of any of these ions or certain trace ions in the body or inhibition of sodium ion transport across the cell membranes can lead to dysfunction in the conduction of electrical messages.

Heat Energy
In physics, heating is transfer of energy from a hotter body to a colder one, other than by work or transfer of matter.

Focus: Packing Heat to Store Energy

Renewable energy sources like wind and solar produce electricity intermittently, so meeting demand may require storing some of the energy for later use. He began by assuming that both the heat pump and the heat engine could be represented as idealized devices. A common assumption is that these thermodynamic systems are reversible, which means that there is no internal friction, and there are no unrecoverable heat transfers. Such perfect components would give 100% efficiency for the full round trip (electricity-heat-electricity), because the heat pump compensates for the heat engines low efficiency. The use of maximum power thermodynamics is useful but mostly as a worst case scenario because of its lower efficiency, says Jonathan Howes, the chief technical officer for Isentropic Ltd., a UK company developing its own PHES system.

Bibliography
H. Tabuchi, 2014. The New York Times E Science News Georgia Institute of Technology Research News November 2008 M. Nielsen, 2013. University of Utah M. Schirber, 2013. American Physical Society J. Coffey, 2010. Science Daily

Acknowledgement
I would like to express with deepest and sincere gratitude and appreciation to my parents, grandparents, uncle and auntie for the guidance, help and supply of materials that I needed. They have made the completion of this Science Magazine possible. They have also inspired me to continue working on this project despite what our family and our city is going through. I would also like to thank the Almighty Father, source and Giver of life, who makes all things possible and Who gave us an open mind, patience, strength and emotional stability in making this Magazine.