Conversion of energy

Question

How does one form of energy get converted into another? What happens at the atomic level? It must be different for different pairs of forms of energy. But could someone give me an example?

Answer 1

Here is one example. A molecule of gasoline contains "chemical potential energy" because of the type and number of chemical bonds it possesses. Burning that molecule with oxygen breaks and rearranges the chemical bonds into a form which contain less chemical potential energy. the released chemical potential energy is imparted to the gaseous products of the burning reaction which means their speed of flight through the air is increased. Since the temperature of a volume of gas is determined by how fast the gas molecules are moving, the chemical potential energy of the gasoline has been converted into kinetic energy of the gas molecules, which we measure as heat energy.

Answer 2

Processes at the subatomic level can be described by Feynman diagrams like in this electron–positron annihilation example:

The rule is that the input energy always equals the output energy. In this example, the mass of the electron-positron pair is converted to the electromagnetic energy of two photons per $E=mc^2$ (plus the kinetic energy of the pair).

Answer 3

To be fiar there is only one universal energy form and it is vibration wich in turn is motion wich creats heat so in the end all things are heat or the lack of.

Simply put it, when converting one energy form to another, what you are realy doing is makeing something ells vibrate like a photon makeing a electron vibrate wich is light converted to electricity.

I might be simplifying it a bit but that is basicly it. (correct me if im wrong.)