Those tectonic plates are huge, they have the size of continents, when they start to move, a lot of energy is involved. You just don't want to be around when that happens. :)
Those plates can move away from each other, they can move to each other and crash, they can even get on top of each other or rub against each other, which causes a lot of things like: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, formation of mountains, formation of seas, tsunamis, ...
The movement of matter due to differences in density and the transfer of energy that results from this movement is called convection.
'Acceleration' in that direction results.
An Earthquake
Well potenial is when it is building up a kinetic is were it is release in movement
A chemical reaction. An electric field gradient ( electric potential)
Mechanical
movement
sinking
tidal currents
tidal currents
yes
kinetic