Delphinidin

Energy is the ability or capacity to do work or to produce a change in motion or matter. Energy exists in several forms and is required for growth, reproduction, movement, cell or tissue damage repair, and other activities of whole organisms, cells, or molecules. On earth, the sun is the ultimate source of life energy.

Thermodynamics is the study of energy and its conversions from one form to another. Scientists apply two laws of thermodynamics to energy. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy is constant—it cannot be increased or diminished—but it can be converted from one form to another. Among its forms are chemical, electrical, heat, and light energy. The second law of thermodynamics states that when energy doesn’t enter or leave a given system and is converted from one form to another, it (energy) flows from a high to a low state. For example, heat will always flow from a hot iron to cold clothing but never from the cold clothing to the hot iron. Furthermore, energy will be released during the conversion. The total amount of energy in the universe, however,remains constant. Such energy-yielding reactions are vital to the normal functions of cells and provide the energy needed for other cell reactions that require energy.

Forms of energy include kinetic (motion) and potential energy. Potential energy is defined as the “capacity to do work owing to the position or state of a particle.” For example, when an individual with a snowboard on the top of a hill rides down the hill, the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. Some chemical reactions release energy, and others require an input of energy.

Although all electrons have the same weight and electrical charge, their amount of potential energy varies. Electrons with the least potential energy are located within the single spherical orbital closest to the atom’s nucleus, and electrons with the most potential energy are in the outermost orbital.