Energy Basics

Energy can be found in a number of different forms. It can be chemical energy, heat (thermal energy), light (radiant energy), mechanical energy, or nuclear energy. Electricity (video) is one of the most important forms of Energy. Electricity lights up our homes, cooks our food, powers our computers, television sets, and other electronic devices. Electricity from batteries keeps our cars running and makes our flashlights shine in the dark. Energy can be measured in many ways. One of the basic measuring blocks is called a BTU. This stands for British thermal unit and was invented, of course, by the English. BTU is the amount of heat energy it takes to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit at sea level. One BTU equals about one blue-tip kitchen match. One thousand BTUs roughly equals: one average candy bar or 4/5 of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It takes about 2,000 BTUs to make a pot of coffee. Energy also can be measured in joules. Joules sounds exactly like the word jewels (as in diamonds and emeralds). A thousand joules is equal to a British thermal unit. 1,000 joules = 1 BTU

So, it would take 2 million joules to make a pot of coffee.