Energy

Energy is required to move or heat an object. The laws of physics state that matter cannot be created or destroyed and only converted between mass and energy (e=mc2). Living organisms require energy to live, move, function and stay alive. Technology needs energy to function. The entire cosmos is composed of energy and matter.

There are four fundamental states of matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma. There are four fundamental forces: electromagnetic, gravitational, weak and strong interaction (nuclear). Energy is carried by some forces, or is released by radioactive decay of the weak force, or released when particles of matter that have binding energy are dislodged from each other. The strong force is approximately 137 times as strong as electromagnetism, 106 times as strong as the weak force, and 1038 times as strong as gravitation.

Energy is measured in joules (J) which is the energy transferred to an object; this is work done (force times displacement) or input. A watt (W) is 1 joule per second, used to quantify the rate of energy release, which is the power output. For example, a supernova blast can release around 1044W of heat energy.

The Kardashev scale measures the total annual renewable and non-renewable primary energy (found in nature and not yet engineered) in Mtoe ( tonne of oil equivalent ) which is converted into TWh (terawatt hours) and divided to get an average hourly power output in TW.

The TNT equivalent is used to compare the energy yield and therefore destructiveness of explosives. For example, a nuclear bomb can yield 1 kiloton of TNT.

Binding energy
Binding energy is the amount of energy required to dislodge particles from each other, and this separation energy is responsible for the release of energy. This is measured in electronvolts (1 eV = 1.6×10−19 J). Because binding energy = mass change × c2, exponentially higher amounts of energy is required to dislodge particle bonds higher up the scale.

Non-renewable energy
These are non-renewable or natural resources that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up with consumption.

Renewable energy
Renewable energy is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale.

As of 2018, the average hourly total energy consumed by mankind is 19.1 TW which leads to 0.73 on the Kardashev scale. In comparison 100 to 140 TW of energy gets captured by plant photosynthesis, out of a total of 173,000 TW of incoming solar radiation. Of the 340 W/m2 of solar radiation received by the top of Earth's atmosphere (TOA), about 100 W/m2 is reflected back to space, leaving 240 W/m2 of solar energy input to the Earth.

In spite of the enormous transfers of energy into and from the Earth, it maintains a relatively constant temperature because there is little net gain or loss. Earth emits via atmospheric and terrestrial radiation to space about the same amount of energy as it receives via all forms of electromagnetic radiation, so Earth's energy budget has a net zero gain.

Antimatter, nuclear fission and fusion have much higher energy densities than (bio)chemical fuels and renewables, and therefore a very small amount of material is needed to gain a very large amount of energy. However because of the astronomical amount of renewables available to a planet, solar system or galaxy, advancing civilizations make use of both forms of energy especially once renewable-gathering becomes more efficient.

Exotic energy
Exotic energy is the term to classify all types of 'unnatural' energy that follow the new laws of physics once the quantum dimension (7d) is discovered. All these energy types have an associated exotic matter. Exotic energy and matter are also found naturally in neutron stars or black holes or cosmic events such as supernovas.

Exotic energy generation
Compare:


 * Magic
 * Entropy