3.1.4

Wasted Energy

Test yourself

Wasted Energy

When one store of energy is transferred to another, some energy is wasted (transferred into unwanted stores of energy). This dissipates (spreads out) to anything nearby.

Illustrative background for Car engines - noise and heatIllustrative background for Car engines - noise and heat ?? "content

Car engines - noise and heat

  • Car engines make a lot of noise and get hot when they are being used to move you about.
  • The useful energy store here is the kinetic store because you want the car to move you from one place to another.
  • The heat and sound energy are wasted energy because they are of no use to you.
Illustrative background for Wires - heatIllustrative background for Wires - heat ?? "content

Wires - heat

  • When wires are used in an electrical circuit, they heat up.
  • This is often not useful energy and so it is wasted.
Illustrative background for Friction - heatIllustrative background for Friction - heat ?? "content

Friction - heat

  • In almost every energy transfer, friction creates heat energy and this energy is often wasted.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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