Turbine-electric transmission enters a turbine, where it expands down to the exhaust pressure, producing a shaft work output in the process. The exhaust is fed into the power turbine used to power an output shaft for whatever desired application. The power turbine is also connected to the electric generator, which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The electric generator driven by the power turbine charges the battery needed in order to drive the motor that supplies compressed air into the combustor. During cruise speed the electric motor does not have to be functioning, only the gas turbine engine is required to continue
Mechanical energy nonconservative forces, like frictional forces, will be present, but often they are of negligible values and the mechanical energy's being constant can therefore be a useful approximation. In elastic collisions, the mechanical energy is conserved but in inelastic collisions, some mechanical energy is converted into heat. The equivalence between lost mechanical energy (dissipation) and an increase in temperature was discovered by James Prescott Joule. Many devices are used to convert mechanical energy to or from other forms of energy, e.g. an electric motor converts electrical energy to mechanical energy, an electric generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy and a