Both living organisms and machines have the ability to acquire, store, utilize and transfer energy through a number of different functions. In living creatures this process is referred to as metabolism and involves the consumption, usage and disposal of various energy sources (such as sunlight through photosynthesis or the digestion of food via stomach acids and enzymes) while machines utilize an energy cycle that take in and utilize energy from a specific energy source (commonly a wall socket providing a constant regular charge) and then release it in their own method as well.

In a commercial and industrial sense, energy is commonly manipulated through the usage of mechanical components such as resistors and capacitors. Resistors act to “channel” or prevent certain levels of electrical current from passing through systems, effectively acting as flow control dams that reduce the amount of voltage on one end of a current by preventing the flow through a circuit. This allows for many smaller components in electrical systems to utilize various amounts of energy and work in conjunction with one another without needing to regulate the initial energy put into the system. In a biological sense, this works similar to our circulatory system which transports nutrients and waste products throughout our bodies, regulating the amount of energy transfer that is given to each specific area in order to ensure proper body functionality on a regular basis.

Capacitors are used to store electricity and provide a discharge of energy when needed in order to provide power to a system that may be lacking in some way. These devices function quite similar to batteries, however unlike common batteries they can not generate their own electrons through the use of an electrolyte solution – they can only store energy that is deposited into them and then release it at a later time. Capacitors are commonly use in many different functions for providing boosts to power when needed and can be found in anything from your home computer and radio to even space shuttles and satellites. Vehicles also rely upon capacitors to provide quick discharges of energy and allow more power to be pushed through a system than may normally be capable with a standard energy current. If we were to compare capacitors to a biological form these would be akin to fat cells out bodies develop to store energy for usage later on.

While there are a number of different energy transfer devices used today, from a common circuitry wire to suspended molecules utilized in quantum processors, both resistors and capacitors and their biological counterparts are major components in virtually all energy systems and play necessary roles in manipulating the flows of energy throughout both open and closed systems. Without these to regulate and store energy as needed systems would be unfeasible due to the lack of ability to regulate themselves and function properly, rendering most modern day technology impossible and, in regards to lifeforms rather than mechanical constructs, would prevent even most cellular functions from being feasible.

(Energy FAQ Series)