Potential Energy and Energy Conservation

Potential energy is not just a property of each object, but also a property of the interactions between objects in a chosen system. For each type of …

Elastic potential energy is the energy stored as a result of the deformation of an elastic object, such as the stretching of a spring. An object is …

According to the law of conservation of energy, any transition between kinetic and potential energy conserves the total energy of the system. Hence, the …

Non-conservative forces are dissipative forces such as friction or air resistance. These forces take energy away from a system as it progresses. Unlike …

The terms 'conserved quantity' and 'conservation law' have specific scientific meanings in physics, which differ from the …

When solving problems using the energy conservation law, the object (system) to be studied should first be identified. Often, in applications of energy …

Force can be calculated from the expression for potential energy, which is a function of position. The component of a conservative force, in a particular …

Consider a particle moving under the action of a conservative force that has components along each coordinate axis. Each component of force is a function …

The dynamics of a mechanical system can be easily understood by interpreting a potential energy diagram. Since energy is a scalar quantity, the …

Energy diagrams are important to understand the dynamics of a system. The topology of an energy diagram helps illustrate the equilibrium points of the …

The mechanical energy E of a system is the sum of its potential energy U and the kinetic energy K of the objects within it. What happens to this …

The work done by an external force on a particle changes its kinetic energy. However, internal forces must also be considered for a system of interacting …