Does Energy Exist? | Answer Here

[Flabbyflab]

Hello, I am having a dispute with my friend on whether fire exists. We have established that fire is energy, but I need to know whether energy "exists". Please, if you can answer this, I need a descriptive response before he will accept it. Thank you!

 

[DukeofDuke]

Whether "energy exists" is a question I can't answer because I really have no idea what energy is.

Fortunately, for our purposes, we don't have to answer that, because fire is not energy =)

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2425/what-exactly-is-fire

 

[mugaliens]

Yes, energy exists. There's nothing that's "pure energy," as energy itself is a mathmatical construct we use to discuss the nature of and transferrence of various aspects of quarks and leptons (matter) and gluons, W&Z bosons, photons, and gravitons (force carriers).

But yes, within the Standard Model, there are several different forms of energy, and we can both translate between those forms, as well as convert the elementary particles between those forms.

Energy most certainly exists.

 

[AJ Bentley]

This is the same dumb question that so-called philosophers have been asking for thousands of years.
Basically it comes down to semantics - how you define the word 'exist'.

Why should anyone waste their time discussing such things?

Set him on fire and ask him why he's yelling.

 

[russ_watters]

Hello, I am having a dispute with my friend on whether fire exists. We have established that fire is energy, but I need to know whether energy "exists". Please, if you can answer this, I need a descriptive response before he will accept it. Thank you!

Yes, energy exists. Fire is not energy, it is a cloud of hot particles that have energy.