How is the flow of energy through a community different from that of matter?
367162
overall, it would still follow thermodynamic entropy
295293
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but one form of energy can be changed to other form.
1143514
Many forms of energy exist around us. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. If a person ever says that energy is lost, what really happens is that energy is spent or changed into different forms. It never really is lost. For example, if you use water energy to create mechanical energy, you might "lose" some energy by creating heat energy in the form of friction.
45010
Although the words are used in many ways, science has specific definitions\nfor each.\n\nForce is a push or a pull.  Force is between objects, one object pushing or\npulling on another.\n\nEnergy is more difficult to define, because energy is "abstract".  Energy is\na quantity that gives an object the ability to affect other objects.  There\nare different kinds of energy.  Kinetic energy is the energy of motion,\nstored within a moving object.  Potential energy is stored in the force\nbetween objects, perhaps in the stretch of a spring.  Thermal energy can be\nstored in the temperature of an object.  Energy passes from place to place,\nobject to object, but never disappears.  The total energy of the universe\nremains constant.\n\nFuel is a material that has energy stored in its chemical structure.  When\nfuel is processes (burned, for example), the chemical energy is released.\nThis released energy can become heat and cause the temperature of something\nto rise.  The released energy can become the kinetic energy of a car.  It\ncan become the energy carried by sound to your ears.
15241
Well yes and no. According the the principal of conservation of energy there is a set amount of energy and it can only be converted, not created or destroyed. But as we look into more complicated realms of physics, we understand that matter can be converted  into energy, and vice-versa.
58617
Matter is something which has weight and occupy space but energy is a medium which cause a matter to do work.
376938
Last I checked, alchemy was more of a psudo-science than an actual science that one could practice.  The changing of one form of energy to another (the entire basis of the theory of alchemy) is hardly difficult or unusual, however.  It's just a matter of an incredibly advanced knowledge of quantum mechanics.  Energy is constantly changing from one state of matter to another as atoms are gain/losing electrons, protons and neutrons into entirely different atoms.  As it is, the atoms in your a$$ are changing into atoms of your pants and vice-a-versa, the atoms in your pants are changing into the atoms in your chair and vice-a-versa, the atoms in your chair are changing into the atoms of the floor and vice-a-versa, and so on and so on.  In order for alchemy to work, you would need to know how to manipulate the atoms of one element to resemble the atoms of your desired element.  Unfortunately, you can't just pick up atom kits from the store to build your own custom elements. :S
877741
Basically energy derived from steam or heat escaping from deep underground.  Kinda like harnessing "Old Faithful".\nHTH
852090
Energy can go from place A to place B (think about sound and light)\nEnergy can go from object A to object B (think about a collision)\n\nTh
919768
Community and/or Ecosystem
428921
This question has driven me buggy for years.  As you stated, energy is technically "the ability to do work", and the other two answers posted have given excellent examples.   Unfortunately,  all the examples in the world don't tell us what energy actually "is".   We can see the results, as in, "Ok,  so this atom trades that particle with that one and speeds up...lovely...",  but as to what actually happens noone knows.  Thanks to Einstein we know that matter is kind of a "frozen" form of energy, but that isn't much help either.  Perhaps the whole concept will end up being purely semantic,  rather as "time" is another way to say "motion".  Who knows?  Exciting, no???  But for now all we can do is observe what happens, calculate what ends up where - and continue to wonder  :)
1007756
Energy is not merely a concept.  It is a definable, measureable, real thing.  Apply energy to an object, and physical properties of the item change in a measureable fashion.  For example, apply flame to a pot of water, and the temperature of the water increases.
86147
Heat energy.\n\nThere is water (or a water mixture) cooling the core directly.  This water is radioactive.  You then have coils running in the water which have other water (protected from the radiation) coursing through them.  This water gets the heat transfered to it and turns to steam.  The steam runs turbines that turn a magnet core in the center of a copper coil that in turn produces electricity.\n\nHope this answers it for ya, feel free to email me!
1081189
We are all connected through energy.  Think about it. Have you ever walked into a room where an arguement had just taken place? Say that you didn't actually hear the arguement but felt that something just wasn't right? That is energy. Energy is what fills everything, even what we perceive as empty space. So, therefore we are all connected by Energy.
369216
matter is neither created nor destroyed
548136
only energy is transferred.  Think about it - if you're in the  ocean and a wave comes by, you bob up and down but aren't swept away.
1124811
You are quite right that what is meant by the term energy is at best often ambiguous, and saying energy can convert from one form to another is unhelpful because it introduces "flavours" of energy. This confusion has historic origins - at one time, different forms of energy were thought to be different and it was not obvious that they were interchangeable of equivalent.\n\nThe easiest way to think of it is this.\n\nThere are two ways in which a particle can be said to have energy.\n\n1. it is moving (including vibrating)\nthis accounts for many of the things you think of as energy - heat is vibrating molecules, electricity is moving charge etc, and of course a speeding bullet has "kinetic energy"\n\n2. it is in a potential\nthis means it is being pulled by one of the forces of nature (gravity, electrostatic or strong nuclear) - if it "gives in" to this force it will accelerate (ie move) and have energy of type 1, and hence this is often called potential energy\nthis accounts for things like the energy in chemical bonds, nuclear energy, the energy in springs etc\n\nNow you can see that you can convert energy associated with moving to energy in a potential. For instance, if i fire a bullet in the air, first the chemicals in the explosive react. This means the electrons rearrange to have a little less energy in the potential created by the nuclei, and this energy is release. The released energy is converted to the energy of motion of the bullet. The bullet flies into the air against the force of gravity and it gain gravitational potential energy as it rises; it also slows down so it is losing kinetic energy.\n\nOne of the triumphs of science was to show that all of these energies are the same - i.e. that none is gained or lost.