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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.

Car engines - noise and heat

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.
Wires - heat

Wires - heat

  • When wires are used in an electrical circuit, they heat up.
  • This is often not useful energy and so it is wasted.
Friction - heat

Friction - heat

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

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