One of most creative illustrations of scientific concepts related to energy I’ve ever seen is the video "Energy, The Pulse of Life" by Jack Micay, which features the Canadian musical group Moxy Früvous. This video presents the most important theory of energy through simple, entertaining examples ranging from real-life experiences to hypothetical scenarios.

        The video consists of three sections. The first section talks about the basic theory including an overview of the history of energy use, and a survey of its various forms. Here the focus shifts to the Sun as the purest source of energy, and energy conversion through photosynthesis and respiration. The second section shows how energy is used today by outlining the evolution of energy technology through the ages to finally present a detailed examination of some of the consequences: environmental problems. The last section proposes possible solutions including more efficient ways to use and conserve energy, development of clean and renewable energy sources, as well as the development of better technologies like fuel cells. The video in its totally is an excellent propaganda to renewable energy sources. However, I strongly disagree with the title of the video.

        When we talk about pulse we immediately refer to a matter of life and death because we know, by checking the pulse, when something is alive or when it is dead. When something dies it loses its movement, its breath, its pulse, its warmth and its life. In the ancient world, energy was equivalent to life itself and a gift from the gods. I believe, however, energy is a more abstract concept rather than an actual thing that can be touch. Energy is a property that all living and nonliving matter posses. I also believe that life is one of the many manifestations of energy, and matter is "alive" when it has the capability to transform energy to more palpable energy forms like work and heat.

        Nothing material or physical can perform any task without using energy. No matter how beautiful, how simple or how "alive" the structure appears, if it functions it must engage energy. Most humans never give much thought as to what it takes to create movement or just stay alive. All the chemicals, foodstuffs, oxygen and water have no value to the physical structure if they can't be converted to "usable" energy. In other words, life cannot exist with insufficient energy.

        Of all the scientific terms I’ve had the chance to study I consider that "energy" is one of most abused words in the dictionary. This word has a specific meaning in physics, but many people who are not familiar with its proper usage, distort its meaning and use it in misleading ways. In general, I feel that no one seems sure what energy represents, other than an accounting system for itself. Albert Einstein showed that everything in the Universe is either mass or energy, and there is a simple interconversion from one to another. Based on this, I would say that energy is everything we can imagine.

Related Readings:       What is life?

                                 The Mysterious Everything