Chemical energy is stored and released by making and breaking bonds between atoms. It can be released by forming new bonds or rearranging molecules. Examples include photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, explosives, and batteries. Combustion, explosives, and fuels are considered chemical stores of energy. Batteries use chemical reactions to produce electricity.
Chemical energy is stored and released by making and breaking bonds between atoms. It is typically released as bonds form and is needed to break them. Sometimes, however, compounds can be formed that store energy and release it later by undergoing chemical reactions, or by rearranging themselves into molecules that, together, have less energy. These compounds can be created by natural processes and by humans. It is also possible to produce electricity chemically. There are many examples of chemical energy in action, both natural and man-made, including photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, explosives, and batteries.
chemical reactions
A chemical reaction will occur when the atoms involved can reach a lower energy state by rearranging themselves in a different way. For example, two hydrogen molecules can combine with one oxygen molecule to produce two water molecules. It takes some energy, such as a flame or spark, to break bonds within existing molecules, but much more is released by forming new bonds. Molecules of hydrogen and oxygen can be thought of as energy stores that can be released under the right circumstances. The opposite reaction, the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, requires a large amount of energy, which is why water is very stable.
Photosynthesis
Under the right circumstances, it is possible to create molecules capable of storing a lot of energy, but this must first be supplied from somewhere. One of the best examples of chemical energy storage is the photosynthesis of green plants. In this case, sunlight provides the power to combine carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with water to produce sugar molecules, which the plant uses for food. Since sugar has more energy than carbon dioxide and water, they cannot combine directly. Photosynthesis, on the other hand, is a complex process that creates sugar indirectly in a series of steps, harnessing the power of the sun.
Breathing
Cellular respiration can be viewed as the opposite of photosynthesis. When a person or other animal eats plant material, the sugar molecules are broken down, producing carbon dioxide and water. Since these together have less energy than sugar, some of it is released. This is stored in a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by adding a phosphate group to another molecule called adenosine diphosphate (ADP). It can be released again, when required, by the removal of this phosphate group; although some energy is required to do this, much more is released by the new bonds that the unbonded phosphate group forms.
Combustion and fuels
One of the most familiar examples of chemical energy is combustion. This is usually a reaction in which carbon and hydrogen in organic substances, such as wood or oil, combine with oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide, water, light and heat. However, it can also involve other elements. Combustion drives the automobile, powers most power plants, and supplies heat and cooking equipment to many homes.
The fuels used for combustion processes can be considered as chemical stores of energy, a large part of which ultimately comes from the sun. Coal, oil and natural gas come from the remains of ancient plants and animals that received their energy from photosynthesis or by eating plants that did. These organic materials were buried in mud and silt, eventually forming the deposits that are exploited today.
Explosives
These substances are also energy reserves. Their molecules are made up of atoms that can rearrange themselves into other molecules that have much less energy, and when that happens, the difference is released as light and heat. Modern explosives are typically nitrated organic compounds, which means they are carbon-hydrogen compounds to which nitrogen-oxygen groups have been added. This is usually a relatively unstable formation: with a fairly small stimulus, existing bonds will break and atoms will reunite into molecules with much lower energy, such as carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen. The light and heat released, combined with the very rapid transformation of a solid or liquid into gas, produce a violent explosion.
Batteries: electricity from chemicals
Chemical reactions can also be used to produce electricity. The atoms of some elements can easily give up electrons, while others like to gain electrons. Batteries take advantage of this fact by arranging two different elements or compounds so that electrons can flow from one to the other when connected in a circuit, forming an electric current. A wide variety of different substances can be used to convert chemical energy into electricity in this way, so there are many different types of batteries that can be used to power phones, small computers, and electrical circuits in cars, among other things .
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