Can you shed light on this ...

Take one clock spring and wind it up, thereby storing potential energy in the spring.

Drop the spring into a bath of acid that will dissolve the metal of the spring.

Where does the stored energy go

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TheOrionbeltseeker · 36-40, M

Buffer Zone absorption

ozgirl512 · 26-30, F

@TheOrionbeltseeker ummm, huh?

TheOrionbeltseeker · 36-40, M

@ozgirl512 You have a ball, you take it 40 feet high along with you. It will have the potential energy = mgh, but then you again take it down with you. Where is my the potential energy of the ball? Wasted? Right?

Similar thing happens when the metal itself get wasted.

ozgirl512 · 26-30, F

@TheOrionbeltseeker ok. I'll be honest, id never thought of that example so thanks!
With the ball, i don't think it is wasted... The potential energy is due to its height, remove the height and you remove, not the energy but the source of the energy...

TheOrionbeltseeker · 36-40, M

@ozgirl512 There, in your question, potential energy is due to winding up of the metal and when you dissolve the metal in any acid, the potential energy will never get a chance to turn into kinetic energy and once the main metal is wasted, energy would and must dissipate.

Another example - Dam water when stored has alot of potential energy. Suppose if the whole system of water storage is transferred to some other location and then water is kept in the sun for days and that water gets evaporated. Where would the potential energy of water go?

ozgirl512 · 26-30, F

@TheOrionbeltseeker but it changes into what?

TheOrionbeltseeker · 36-40, M

@ozgirl512 Energy will be available only when the system gets unwind. If it doesn't get unwind, it will make your system inefficient and Energy - output ratio, energy efficiency ratio would be tending towards zero.