Question

Why does the human body need energy in forms other than heat?

Answer 1

Humans need energy for the proper functioning of our body.

The various forms of energy that are in our body are thermal energy, muscular energy, electrical energy and chemical energy.

Thermal energy is required for the maintenance of body temperature.

Muscular energy is required to move, to do the work etc.

The signals from brain to nerves will be transferred in the form of electrical energy.

The energy from food is stored in our body in the form of chemical energy.

So, we need various forms of energies.

These can be obtained from food, the air we breathe and the water that we drink and sunlight.

Chemical energy obtained from food later on digestion of those nutrients release required muscular energy to us.

From sunlight , the melanin in our body is converted into vitamin D again which helps us for our bone strength etc.

Heat energy is also required to our body when it is very cold. But that heat energy should be transformed in the form of radiation and not in the form of conduction or convection.

Direct conduction or convection of heat energy may lead to skin burns which are dangerous.

Sometimes these skin burns may lead to death also ,so we should be careful while handling with heat energy.