What does themal energy mean besides a heater in a house?

Answer 1

The poster above seems to be rather confused between the definitions of "thermal energy" and "geothermal energy". Geothermal energy is indeed thermal energy of the earth.

However, "thermal energy" refers to the kinetic and potential energy possessed by atoms or molecules that make up an object - what we usually think of as 'heat' (although heat is merely a relative term). Atoms are the "building blocks " of molecules and ulitmately all objects and gases; Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by a moving object, so thermal energy basically refers to how quickly atoms are moving around. Thermal energy is measured as temperature; "absolute zero" is the state of atoms having no kinetic energy at all and is equal to -272 deg Celsius.

Answer 2

Thermal energy has NOTHING to do with a heater in a house!
Thermal energy refers to the heat generated by the earth itself within the magma that will rise towards the crust of earth creating volcanoes, gesyers and pockets of thermal heat and steam that can be transformed into energy. The country of Iceland gets almost all of its energy needs from the thermal energies that lie under that country.

Answer 3

Thermal energy? heat.