Why is some energy unusable by living organisms?
written by Sidra Batool
Energy is the life force of every living organism. It is the most important factor of living beings. It is the reason why we need food and water. It is also the reason why we need to breathe. Without energy, we can’t live.
Every living organism has this property of energy. However, not all of the energy is usable by living beings. The energy that is not usable by living beings is called unusable energy.
Usable energy is also known as available energy. It is used by living organisms to carry out their actions. There are two types of usable energy:
- Thermodynamically available energy
- Chemically available energy
What is thermodynamically available energy?
It is the energy that is directly converted from heat. It is also known as sensible energy. It is the energy that is directly converted from sun rays, wind, fire, etc.
What is chemically available energy?
It is the energy that is indirectly converted from heat. It is the energy that is directly converted from the chemical bonds in the molecules. It is also known as latent energy.
Why is some energy unusable by living organisms?
Living organisms can use only the energy that is usable by them. They can’t use unusable energy. This is the reason why some energy is unusable by living organisms.
There are three reasons why some energy is unusable by living organisms. These are as follows:
1. The chemical potential of the surrounding environment is very high
2. The energy level of the surrounding environment is too low
3. The temperature of the surrounding environment is too high
What is the chemical potential of the surrounding environment?
It is the energy that is directly converted from chemical bonds in the molecules.
The energy level of the surrounding environment is very low.
It is the energy that is directly converted from chemical bonds in the molecules.
What is the temperature of the surrounding environment?
It is the average of the kinetic energy of the molecules. It is the temperature of the surrounding environment.
Conclusion
In this post, we have discussed unusable energy. We have also explained the method of conversion of unusable energy into usable energy. So, in case you want to know about the usable and unusable energy leave us a comment below.
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