Some Forms of Energy ( = the capacity to do work)
Form	Description	Examples (Meteorological Examples)
Kinetic	Energy associated with motion:  KE = ½mv2	Any moving material:  a moving car, a rolling rock, wind, etc.
Acoustical	Actually kinetic energy associated with  oscillation, perceived as sound in a limited frequency range	Any perceived sound, but also includes infrasound (too low a frequency to be heard) and ultrasound (too high a frequency to be heard).  Thunder, howling winds and the pattering of raindrops, sleet and hail are meteorological examples.
Potential	Ability to do work by virtue of position	Water behind a dam, a stretched spring, a raised hammer, a warm buoyant air parcel, a cold subsiding air parcel, etc.
Chemical	A form of potential energy, the ability to do work by a chemical change	The energy stored in fuel or food
Internal	Energy associated with kinetic energy on the atomic/molecular level, is proportional to T [K]	A hot object  (or hot air mass) which possesses more IE than an otherwise identical cold object (or cold air mass)
Latent Heat	Internal energy input/output associated with a change in phase rather than a change in temperature	Water at any temperature possesses more energy (latent heat of fusion) than ice at the same temperature.   Water vapor at any temperature possesses more than energy than water (latent heat of vaporization) at the same temperature.  Therefore water vapor at any temperature possesses more energy than ice at the same temperature.
Radiant	Energy associated with electromagnetic radiation	Energy the earth receives directly from the sun (which warms the earth), infrared energy radiated into space by the earth (which cools the earth)
Electrical	Energy associated with flowing electrical current	Energy transported through power lines, is readily converted to internal energy (ovens, toasters, etc.), kinetic energy (electric motors).  Lightning is a meteorological example.
Nuclear	A form of potential energy associated with the nuclear configurations of the chemical isotopes	Atomic bombs, the energy sources in nuclear reactors, the internal energy source of the sun, the energy source which keeps the earth's center hot and drives plate tectonics