What is thermal energy?

Question

Yeah, it's from my eighth grade physical science book. can you please explain what it is?

So if you take away the thermal energy, the temperature decreases. Sorry, I'm doing a lab write up and I totally spaced

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_energy

go here its a great break down

Answer 2

Thermal energy
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In thermal physics, thermal energy is the energy portion of a system that increases with its temperature. In a loose sense, "thermal energy" is a term often used to describe the energy content of a system related to heating effects, e.g. temperature increase or decrease. In thermodynamics, thermal energy is the internal energy present in a system in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium by virtue of its temperature.[1] The term is not widely used, however, in a rigorous sense, owing to the result that the phrase "thermal (heat) energy" is counter-intuitive. That is, heat can only be defined as any spontaneous flow of energy (energy in transit) from one object to another, caused by a difference in temperature between two objects; thus, an object cannot posess "heat".[2] This is explained by the second law of thermodynamics. Hence, by extrapolation, it is difficult to define quantities of heat energy (thermal energy). In isolated cases, however, a few definitions do exist.

Answer 3

In thermal physics, thermal energy is the energy portion of a system that increases with its temperature. In a loose sense, "thermal energy" is a term often used to describe the energy content of a system related to heating effects, e.g. temperature increase or decrease. In thermodynamics, thermal energy is the internal energy present in a system in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium by virtue of its temperature. The term is not widely used, however, in a rigorous sense, owing to the result that the phrase "thermal (heat) energy" is counter-intuitive. That is, heat can only be defined as any spontaneous flow of energy (energy in transit) from one object to another, caused by a difference in temperature between two objects; thus, an object cannot posess "heat". This is explained by the second law of thermodynamics. Hence, by extrapolation, it is difficult to define quantities of heat energy (thermal energy). In isolated cases, however, a few other definitions do exist.

Thermal energy per particle is sometimes called the average translational kinetic energy possessed by free particles given by equipartition of energy.

Thermal energy is the difference between the internal energy of an object and the amount that it would have at absolute zero. It includes the quantity of kinetic energy due to the motion of the internal particles of an object, and is increased by heating and reduced by cooling.

In a monatomic ideal gas, the thermal energy is exactly given by the kinetic energy of the constituent particles.

Answer 4

Thermal energy comes from inside the earth and is released via volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers. Also in some places to generate electricity holes are drilled deep in the earths crust and water is pumped down in the earth, heated by the earth then pumped back up to the service where it is converted into electricity.

Answer 5

I'm in 8th grade n we r learning bout the same thing, thermal energy is heat energy.

Answer 6

Thermal energy is when they use the heat from the earths core to heat water that produces steam that runs turbines that produce energy.same as coal fired power stations.

Answer 7

Thermal energy is energy in the form of heat and is measured in British Thermal Units (BTU) or Megawatts (MW).

Answer 8

In thermal physics, thermal energy is the energy portion of a system that increases with its temperature. In a loose sense, "thermal energy" is a term often used to describe the energy content of a system related to heating effects, e.g. temperature increase or decrease. In thermodynamics, thermal energy is the internal energy present in a system in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium by virtue of its temperature.[1] The term is not widely used, however, in a rigorous sense, owing to the result that the phrase "thermal (heat) energy" is counter-intuitive. That is, heat can only be defined as any spontaneous flow of energy (energy in transit) from one object to another, caused by a difference in temperature between two objects; thus, an object cannot posess "heat".[2] This is explained by the second law of thermodynamics. Hence, by extrapolation, it is difficult to define quantities of heat energy (thermal energy). In isolated cases, however, a few definitions do exist.

[edit] Internal energy
Internal energy – the sum of all microscopic forms of energy of a system. It is related to the molecular structure and the degree of molecular activity and may be viewed as the sum of kinetic and potential energies of the molecules; it is comprised of the following types of energies:[3]

Type Composition of Internal Energy (U)
Sensible energy the portion of the internal energy of a system associated with kinetic energies (molecular translation, rotation, and vibration; electron translation and spin; and nuclear spin) of the molecules.
Latent energy the internal energy associated with the phase of a system.
Chemical energy the internal energy associated with the atomic bonds in a molecule.
Nuclear energy the tremendous amount of energy associated with the strong bonds within the nucleus of the atom itself.
Energy interactions those types of energies not stored in the system (e.g. heat transfer, mass transfer, and work), but which are recognized at the system boundary as they cross it, which represent gains or losses by a system during a process.
Thermal energy the sum of sensible and latent forms of internal energy.


[edit] Definitions

[edit] System of N particles
According to the equipartition theorem, it is possible to define thermal energy. In a system of N molecules, each with f degrees of freedom, and if there are no other (non-quadratic) temperature-dependent forms of energy, then the total thermal energy of the system is:[2]


To note, Uthermal is almost never the total energy of a system; for instance, there can be static energy that doesn't change with temperature, such as bond energy or rest energy (E=mc2).


[edit] Other definitions
Thermal energy per particle is sometimes called the average translational kinetic energy possessed by free particles given by equipartition of energy.[4]

Thermal energy is the difference between the internal energy of an object and the amount that it would have at absolute zero.[citation needed] It includes the quantity of kinetic energy due to the motion of the internal particles of an object, and is increased by heating and reduced by cooling.

In a monatomic ideal gas, the thermal energy is exactly given by the kinetic energy of the constituent particles.[citation needed]

Answer 9

Thermal Energy is the ('Kinetic') energy due to the motion of the molecules in a substance.
The addition of heat energy causes an increase in molecular motion and therefore an increase in temperature or a change in state (or phase).
The addition or removal of 'Sensible' heat energy ( S.H.), will increase or decrease molecular activity and therefore the temperature of the substance (between its boiling and freezing point).
The addition or removal of 'Latent' heat energy (L.H.), will also cause an increase or decrease in molecular activity but, the temperature WILL NOT change. Only the state (phase) will change. Liquid to Vapour (L.H. of Vaporisation), or Vapour to Liquid (L.H. of Condensation).
Liquid to Solid (L.H. of Freezing) or Solid to Liquid (L.H. of Melting).
(The S.H. and L.H. is different for different substances and are referred to as 'Thermal Energy').

Answer 10

You guessed it, thermal energy is energy produced by heat.

Answer 11

kinetic energy: energy associated with the relative motion of objects.
Heat (thermal) energy: kinetic energy associated with the random movement of atoms or molecules.
(extra energy an object possesses due to its motion)