Polymeric Materials in Energy Conversion and Storage

The energy stored by a structure and location of matter in space is called potential energy. For instance, raising a kettlebell changes its spatial location and increases its potential energy. Similarly, a stretched rubber band contains potential energy which, under certain conditions, can be converted into other forms of energy, such as kinetic energy.
Chemical bonds that form attractive forces between atoms also contain potential energy, called chemical energy. When a chemical reaction...

Sugar (a simple carbohydrate) metabolism (chemical reactions) is a classic example of the many cellular processes that use and produce energy. Living things consume sugar as a major energy source because sugar molecules have considerable energy stored within their bonds. Consumed carbohydrates have their origins in photosynthesizing organisms like plants. During photosynthesis, plants use the energy of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide gas into sugar molecules, like glucose. Because this...

A parallel plate capacitor, when connected to a battery, develops a potential difference across its plates. This potential difference is key to the operation of the capacitor, as it determines how much electrical energy the capacitor can store.
By integrating the equation that relates voltage and current in a capacitor, one can derive an equation for the voltage across the capacitor at any given time. This equation is crucial in understanding and predicting the behavior of capacitors in...

The word polymer is derived from the Greek words “poly” which means “many” and “mer” which means “parts”. Polymers are long chains of molecules composed of repeating units of smaller molecules, known as monomers. They either occur naturally, such as DNA and proteins, or can be constructed synthetically, like plastics. They have varied structural characteristics, such as linear chains, branched chains, or complex networks, that contribute to the...

In 1749, Benjamin Franklin coined the word battery for a series of capacitors connected to store energy. Capacitors store electric potential energy that can be released over a short time. This property means capacitors have a wide range of applications.
Capacitor-discharge ignition is a type of ignition system commonly found in small engines where the energy released from a capacitor ignites an induction coil that, in turn, fires the spark plug.
To calculate the energy stored in a capacitor of...

When an archer pulls the string in a bow, he saves the work done in the form of elastic potential energy. When he releases the string, the potential energy is released as kinetic energy of the arrow. A capacitor works on the same principle in which the work done is saved as electric potential energy. The potential energy (UC) could be calculated by measuring the work done (W) to charge the capacitor.