how adenosine triphosphate is the ‘energy currency’ of cells? Is the molecule structured to trap and transfer energy or create it?
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ATP is like a tower of stacked blocks balancing. Each object you add increases the potential energy (representing another chemical bond).
The taller you build it though, the more unstable it gets.
One phosphate is very stable and won’t fall apart.
Two phosphates still pretty stable.
The third phosphate just barely stays up, until a slight breeze pushes it over and it falls, releasing it energy.
The breeze is latent heat energy from other molecules colliding with it. The energy from the fall of the 3rd ATP block is captured (by lets say an air pump) as it lands.
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