ASL Signs- energy, potential energy, kinetic energy

Today’s #STEMsigns are energy (physics), potential energy and kinetic energy!

And, watch until the end to learn the status quo of the sign, “energy” in our community and whether the sign should be used differently in varying contexts such as biology and physics!!

*Signs shown on #STEMsigns are seen and used by the community and are not created by Atomic Hands. We encourage you to evaluate the sign and adopt or discard it; or develop a new sign!

#STEMsigns #deaf #stemeducation #stem

Transcript: Today’s #STEMsigns are energy (physics), potential energy and kinetic energy!

Energy…. We know that energy cannot be created, nor destroyed. But, it can change forms. Therefore, the total energy of a system will always remain constant. Okay… What is an energy, exactly? A tough concept to define! Energy is the capacity of a physical system to perform work. Basically, energy is the capacity for a force to cause the movement of an object. There are many types of energy and I will focus on two types are common in our lives: Potential and kinetic energies.

Potential energy is stored energy due to position or state. Kinetic energy is energy of motion. Let’s use a bow for an example. When a bow is not drawn, it assumes its equilibrium position - which means there is no energy stored in the bow. But when a bow is drawn, it is able to store energy as the result of its new position. This stored energy is called potential energy. Now, when a drawn bow releases its position, the potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy. Same is true with skydiving. Skydivers riding in a plane have potential energy due to being high up. After they jump, this potential energy gets converted into kinetic energy. As you can see, energies are never created or destroyed. They get converted into different forms as shown in these recent examples (potential to kinetic energies)!

Sometimes, the same English word is used for different contexts or meanings. Should this be the case in ASL for the sign, “energy”? Should the sign be used the same way in different contexts or not? It is currently being debated in the community.

Like the word, “run,” how we sign “run” depends on the context. Nose running, going out for a run, running for the president. In biology, we often look at things closely. Because of the closer look, we explain energy in form of creation and depletion (i.e. photosynthesis or exercise). However, if we take a step back and look at the bigger picture like the physicists do, the energy is not created or depleted. It simply changes form, or get transferred (I.e. energy from the sun being transferred to the plant, or energy from the food being transferred to our body’s cells or released as heat through sweating). Therefore, despite all of these “changes”, the total energy remains constant.

So, should we sign “energy” as “energy (version 1)” in biology and “energy (version 2)” in physics? Or should we sign “energy (version 2)” in all contexts including biology? What do you think?