Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Energy forms
Introduction
In the context of physical sciences, several forms of energy have been defined. These include:
- Thermal energy popularly known as heat
- Chemical energy
- Electrical energy
- Radiant energy commonly known as light energy
- Nuclear energy
- Magnetic energy
- Elastic energy
- Sound Energy
- Gravitational energy
- Renewable energy
- Non-renewable energy
Some basic textbooks group all these forms of energy into two broad categories:[1] kinetic energy and potential energy. However, some forms of energy resist such easy classification, as is the case with light energy. Other familiar types of energy (such as heat in most circumstances) are a varying mix of both potential and kinetic energy.
However, the above set of the possible forms of energy is not a closed set. Whenever physical scientists discover that certain phenomenon appears to violate the law of energy conservation, new forms can be added, as is the case with dark energy.