Using Earth’s Energy Mechanical energy is energy of motion. Hot water from this volcano creates steam. Steam makes huge turbines spin very fast. Tis mechanical energy creates electricity. Unlike Masaya, the ground here


is so hot that I can feel Earth’s geothermal energy through the soles of my shoes. I feel another kind of energy, too. It’s from the sun. It’s called radiant energy. So now I feel the energy move in


two ways! Earth moves heat energy to me from below. Te sun moves heat energy to me from above.


One Last Stop Tere’s one more place I want to visit in Nicaragua—the Casita Volcano. It’s where my interest in energy and volcanoes began. I used a lot of mechanical


energy to climb this volcano. Now I need a snack! Food gives our bodies chemical energy. To make a snack, I put a raw


egg into a hot spring at the base of a fumarole. Aſter more than eight minutes, I pull the egg out and wait for it to cool. When I peel off the shell, the egg is cooked. Yum! Energy is all around us. Some


volcanoes have more geothermal energy than others. Turning all of this energy into electricity could bring power to many people living near volcanoes.


Wordwise


chemical energy: stored energy in chemicals such as gasoline or in food


energy: the ability to do work


geothermal energy: heat energy that comes from inside Earth


mechanical energy: energy of motion and position


radiant energy: energy that travels in waves, like heat from the sun


JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2015 7


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