What type of energy is stored due to position?

Potential energy is the type of energy stored due to an object's position. This energy is dependent on the relative position of objects in a system and can be influenced by gravitational forces, elastic forces, and chemical composition.

For instance, when an object is raised to a certain height against the force of gravity, it gains gravitational potential energy. Similarly, a compressed spring stores elastic potential energy because of its position relative to its rest state. In both cases, the energy is not in motion but instead represents the potential for work to be done when the object's position changes.

Kinetic energy, on the other hand, refers to the energy of an object in motion and is not related to its position. Thermal energy is related to the temperature and the motion of particles within a substance but again does not depend on position. Mechanical energy combines both kinetic and potential energies, but the term does not specifically address energy stored due to position alone, which is the essence of potential energy.