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gravity can move them in close formation and in the same direction, like soldiers on the march. As water pours over the edge, potential energy turns into kinetic energy, or energy of motion. This is coordinated movement in a single direction. It’s structured, so we can describe the energy that drives it as free energy. And free energy, unlike the random heat energy of gas molecules, can do work because it has some structure and shape and can push things in a single direction rather than pushing them every which way.1 If you wanted to, you could direct this flow of free energy through a turbine ...more
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything
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