What is energy? Is energy in a lightning bolt, does it come out of a
chemical reaction, is it the momentum of the earth? If energy comes in
different forms please explain them. Does energy self organize? In the
wake of the big bang did energy self organize into quarks? Did
lightning organize matter into amino acids so that life could begin?
Is it something inherit in energy that causes it to organize things?

Hi defactopkmf, and thanks for the chance to work on this interesting
question!


Let's start with the first part...  "What is energy?"

From Oneworld.net's 'What is Energy' page (a really good introduction
to the basics, including sections called "where does it come from?",
"what does it do?", and "why do we need it?") @
( http://www.oneworld.org/energy/plain/whatis.htmlFrom ):

"Everything in the universe is either energy or matter. Einstein
realized that one could become the other and vice versa, immortalized
in his famous equation E=mc2. E is energy, m is mass (matter) and c is
the velocity of light. It means that energy and matter are equivalent.

This understanding is the basis of nuclear bombs and power in which
matter is changed to energy. For us humans, energy is the means for
doing work. Picking up a book, watching TV or launching a Space
Shuttle all need energy. Without it there would be no life, for all
life uses energy."


And where do we get energy (i.e. what are the various sources of
energy?)

From "What is Energy?”, a great site aimed at kids, but great for us
adults, by the US Energy Information Administration
( http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/whatsenergy.html ):

"These sources are divided into two groups -- renewable (an energy
source that we can use over and over again) and nonrenewable (an
energy source that we are using up and cannot recreate in a short
period of time)."

(For specific information about which sources fall into which
category, click on the words "renewable" and "nonrenewable" on that
page.)


And how do we receive and store energy?

From that same site:

"It comes in different forms -- heat (thermal), light (radiant),
mechanical, electrical, chemical, and nuclear energy.  There are two
types of energy -- stored (potential) energy and working (kinetic)
energy.  For example, the food you eat contains chemical energy, and
your body stores this energy until you release it when you work or
play."


So, the examples you gave in your question use/produce various forms
and types of energy.  Lightning is the conversion of potential
(electrical charges in a storm cloud) to kinetic (a lightning flash)
energy, and consists of several forms... thermal, radiant, and
electrical.  (If we were to harness lightning, we could hypothetically
convert it into another form.  We do just that with many natural
forces now - by harnessing energy from the sun through solar panels,
from wind through windmills, from water using dams, etc.)  Chemical
reactions can certainly produce energy... If you combine two
substances and they cause an explosion, you have converted at least
some of their potential energy into kinetic energy.  The earth's
momentum itself does not contain or produce energy.  Momentum is a
measure of an object's resistance to a change in motion. (For more on
the relationship between energy and momentum, see the Boston
University Physics Department's page called "Studying Elementary
Particles-Velocity, Momentum, and Energy" @
http://physics.bu.edu/ATLAS/guide/energy.html ) If, however, you could
harness the potential energy inherent in the motion of the earth, you
could convert it to another form, just as with the examples above.


Now for the ‘self-organization’ question… First, let’s try to define
it. (As it happens, that’s not so easy!)
The Principia Cybernetica Web offers this definition
(http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SELFORG.html ):
“Self-organization is a process where the organization (constraint,
redundancy) of a system spontaneously increases, i.e. without this
increase being controlled by the environment or an encompassing or
otherwise external system.”
However, by following the links at the bottom of the page, it becomes
clear that there are other proposed definitions.  They essentially
vary in how much a system’s environment can be a part of the changes
it’s undergoing until the system is no longer considered
“self-organized.”
Since you asked about  ‘The Big Bang,’ it’s important to point out
that it is still a theory (widely accepted, but a theory nonetheless.)
There are many related questions still unanswered, and of course no
one knows exactly what happened, so any ‘answer’ to this question in
that context will be speculative.

With that said, Encyclopedia.com gives some helpful information on
it’s Cosmology page under “ The Big-Bang Theory.”
(http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/cosmolog_ModernCosmologicalTheories.asp):
“According to big-bang theories, at the beginning of time, all of the
matter and energy in the universe was concentrated in a very dense
state, from which it “exploded,” with the resulting expansion
continuing until the present… In this initial state, the universe was
very hot and contained a thermal soup of quarks, electrons, photons,
and other elementary particles … As the universe cooled, the quarks
condensed into protons and neutrons, the building blocks of atomic
nuclei. Some of these were converted into helium nuclei by fusion; the
relative abundance of hydrogen and helium is used as a test of the
theory. After many millions of years the expanding universe, at first
a very hot gas, thinned and cooled enough to condense into individual
galaxies and then stars.”

If you agree with Einstein in his theory that matter and energy are
related (as mentioned in the beginning of this answer,) some energy
may well have converted to matter and vice versa.  As you can see in
the previous passage, according to The Big-Bang Theory, some of the
matter in existence today was created through the kinds of reactions
we were introduced to earlier (nuclear, physical/thermal.)

It could be said that the capacity for such reactions is ‘inherent’ in
energy, as you suggested.  Does that mean energy is capable of
self-organization?  I think the key to answering that question (again,
in this context) is answering another question… Was The Big Bang a
result of such reactions, or vice versa?  The answer… No one knows.
(From Thinkquest Library’s “Intro to the Universe” page @
http://library.thinkquest.org/26220/universe/?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0702  ,
“We do not know exactly what caused the big bang, but we do know what
happened fractions of a second after it.”  From Spaceboy’s Big Bang
page @ http://spaceboy.nasda.go.jp/note/shikumi/e/shi01_e.html , “At
the moment the universe was born there was a colossal explosion that
scientists refer to as the "Big Bang." This marked the birth of time
and space. Yet what caused the Big Bang to occur? The status of the
universe 1/100th of a second after the Big Bang is discussed
theoretically, but prior to that, nothing is known. And a variety of
other theories exist in addition to the Big Bang.”


So, I can’t tell you what happened in the Big Bang… But I hope and
think I’ve provided you with the kind of information you’re looking
for.  Please feel free to request clarification if I can be of any
further help… and thanks again for the interesting and challenging
question!


Best,
Rebecca


The pages I used to answer your questions are full of wonderful, easy
to understand information, and there are great pages I didn’t even get
to quote! I wish I could have posted it all here!  I encourage you to
explore them:

HowStuffWorks' page on Energy, part of "How Force, Power, Torque and
Energy Work," by Karim Nice
( http://www.howstuffworks.com/fpte6.htm )
This page will give you information about in energy in a context that
may make it easier to fully understand.

What is Energy, a great site for kids by the US Energy Information
Administration
( http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/whatsenergy.html )

Edugreen’s page on energy
( http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/n_renew/ener.htm )

Encyclopedia.com’s page on energy
(http://www.encyclopedia.com/searchpool.asp?target=energy )

Spaceboy’s page on The Big Bang
(http://spaceboy.nasda.go.jp/note/shikumi/e/shi01_e.html )

Thinkquest Library’s “Intro to the Universe” page
(http://library.thinkquest.org/26220/universe/?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0702 )

The Principia Cybernetica Web’s page on Self Organization
(http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SELFORG.html )


I searched for:

"what is energy" 
( ://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22what+is+energy%22
)

"energy and momentum"
( ://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22energy+and+momentum%22
)

“the big bang”
(://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22the+big+bang%22
)

"self-organization"
(://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22self%2Dorganization%22
)

"what caused the big bang"
(://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22what+caused+the+big+bang%22
)

---

Clarification of Answer by rebeccam-ga on 03 Jul 2002 12:25 PDT

Let me clarify the last part of the answer I offered, assuming the
creation of the universe as we know it was a result of The Big Bang.

If self-organized energy was itself responsible for The Big Bang,
clearly we'd have an answer as to it's capability...  We'd know energy
was capable of self-organization, and would consider The Big Bang, and
its effects, the results of that instance of self-organization.

If The Big Bang was caused by something other than self-organized
energy, we'd have to decide how much of an impact an event like that
could have on energy before it could no longer be considered
'self-organized.'  (Again, there are several definitions to choose
from.)

The fact is, no one knows what caused The Big Bang, so that particular
question cannot yet be answered.

Congratulations defactopkmf  on seeking answers to dificult questions.

  Concept of energy  is intertwined with history of physics, starting
with debate on
 'vis viva'  and nature of heat  in 16th to 19th centuries
http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/Chem-History/Joule-Heat-1845.html
and culminating in  Einstein's energy-mass equivalence equation.

This question can be answered on several levels, elementary, 
high-school, college,
or advanced physics. 
 While answer given above did listed many atempts to answer the
question, some
of them respectable, I would give a  still different answer:

A bit like this:

 Energy is a physical quantity, measured in Joules, which is conserved
 during all physical processes.
 It is not the only conserved quantity, there are others, such as
momentum or charge.

 On advanced level, these are connected with symetries of space and
time ,
 as discovered by Emma Noether

http://www.emmynoether.com/noeth.htm

the energy having to do with translation in time,  
momentum with translation in space. (In modern physics,
momentum and position are complementary, and so is
energy and time). See links in:
http://dmoz.org/Society/Philosophy/Philosophy_of_Science/Philosophy_of_Physics/

  The Energy, or lack thereof, is often confused with another physical
quantity
called Entropy, which, unlike energy, is related to organisation,
complexity and tendency
of  physical system to evolve certain way (note the tropy (=tendency)
in the name).

This is a huge and fascinating topic, and I will point you to this
directory for references:
http://dmoz.org/Society/Philosophy/Philosophy_of_Science/Philosophy_of_Physics/Time_and_Timelessness/

Would you need more specific references , 
perhaps another, more specific question 
needs to be asked. But be selective! There is an incredible amount
of nonsense, on the web, about entropy, and its twin negentropy.

hedgie

Hi,
I have to say that I agree with hedgie-ha that in one sense energy
does not
really exist. By that I mean there is no such thing as "pure energy"
although
the curvature of space-time might perhaps come close. Rather energy
should be
thought of as the capacity to do work (or as Emmy Noether so elegantly
put it,
it is a conserved quantity due to the fact that the laws of physics do
not change in time).

All material systems have the ability to do work unless they are at
zero degrees. And the different sorts of energy you mentioned in your
questions are
different ways of expressing the work. Conventially we talk about
different sorts of energy such as electrical energy, thermal energy
(i.e. heat), optical energy (i.e. light), mechanical energy (thing of
the energy stored in
a spring). 

Also useful is the distinction between potential and kinetic energy.
Kinetic
energy is the energy associated with a moving object, whereas
potential energy is the energy stored in a system. The best example is
when you carry
a ball up a hill you are adding to its gravitional energy and when it
rolls
down the hill its potential energy gets converted to kinetic energy.

Regarding the second part of the question on self-organisation, the
simple
answer is I think no. As there is no such physical thing as energy
then it
cann't self-organise. What happened in the big bang is part of the
general
idea that as things cool down then approach a more stable state. And
for most
temperatures below roughly 10 million degrees that stable state is the
one you see around you, i.e. atoms with electrons and some photons.
Whether or not you want to call this self-organisation is perhaps up
to you.