Energy Energy In physics, energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object in order to perform work on, or to heat, the object. Energy is a conserved quantity; the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed. The SI unit of energy is the joule, which is the energy transferred to an object by the work of moving it a distance of 1 metre against a force of 1 newton. Common forms of energy include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the potential energy stored by
Elastic energy of compressible fluids, and especially gases, demonstrates the essence of elastic energy with negligible complication. The simple thermodynamic formula: formula_2 where dU is an infinitesimal change in recoverable internal energy "U", "P" is the uniform pressure (a force per unit area) applied to the material sample of interest, and "dV" is the infinitesimal change in volume that corresponds to the change in internal energy. The minus sign appears because "dV" is negative under compression by a positive applied pressure which also increases the internal energy. Upon reversal, the work that is done "by" a system is the negative of the