Mechanical energy is the energy of work. Back in the olden days, brave
inventors used steam to power turbines, or used water to turn
wheels in a river. These are examples of putting mechanical energy to
work. The gears inside a wind up clock need mechanical energy to
function.
When the heat energy is used to do work for us, we call it mechanical
energy. Mechanical energy can either be potential which is stored energy,
or kinetic which is the energy of motion. The sum of the potential
and kinetic energy of an object is the amount of its total mechanical
energy.
