About Chemical Energy

Battery

Chemical potential energy is a form of potential energy related to the structural arrangement of atoms or molecules. This arrangement may be the result of chemical bonds within a molecule or otherwise. 

Chemical energy of a chemical substance can be transformed to other forms of energy by a chemical reaction. As an example, when a fuel is burned the chemical energy is converted to heat, same is the case with digestion of food metabolized in a biological organism. Green plants transform solar energy to chemical energy through the process known as photosynthesis, and electrical energy can be converted to chemical energy through electrochemical reactions.

Kind Chemical Energy

The similar term chemical potential is used to indicate the potential of a substance to undergo a change of configuration, be it in the form of a chemical reaction, spatial transport, particle exchange with a reservoir, etc.

Scientifically, energy is defined as the ability to do work. While there are many forms of energy, they can be grouped into two categories: potential energy, or stored energy; and kinetic energy, or energy of motion. Chemical energy is a form of potential energy and it is possessed by things such as food, fuels and batteries.

Within each category of energy, there are many different forms of energy. Chemical energy is one form of potential energy, along with mechanical energy, gravitational energy, nuclear energy and electrical energy. All of these forms of energy are stored within an object and are converted to forms of kinetic energy when a force or change is applied. The different forms of kinetic energy are radiant energy, which includes light, x-rays and radio waves, heat, motion and sound.