In physics, energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to a body or physical system to perform work on the body, or to heat it. Energy is a conserved quantity; the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed. The unit of measurement in the International System of Units (SI) of energy is the joule, which is the energy transferred to an object by the work of moving it a distance of one metre against a force of one newton.
Common forms of energy include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the potential energy stored by an object's position in a force field (gravitational, electric or magnetic), the elastic energy stored by stretching solid objects, the chemical energy released when a fuel burns, the radiant energy carried by light, and the thermal energy due to an object's temperature.
Mass and energy are closely related. Due to mass–energy equivalence, any object that has mass when stationary (called rest mass) also has an equivalent amount of energy whose form is called rest energy, and any additional energy (of any form) acquired by the object above that rest energy will increase the object's total mass just as it increases its total energy. For example, after heating an object, its increase in energy could be measured as a small increase in mass, with a sensitive enough scale.
Living organisms require energy to stay alive, such as the energy humans get from food. Human civilization requires energy to function, which it gets from energy resources such as fossil fuels, nuclear fuel, or renewable energy. The processes of Earth's climate and ecosystem are driven by the radiant energy Earth receives from the Sun and the geothermal energy contained within the earth.
Hello everyone! I noticed in the derivation of potential energy, Mr Lewin defined the gravitational potential energy of a mass m at point P relative to a much larger mass M. He says the potential energy of m at point P is equal to the work he would have to do to move the mass m from infinity to...
Hello everyone! I've been studying work and energy, and one problem I have is understanding conservation of mechanical energy. If on a rollercoaster you have two points A and B you expect the mechanical energy at A to be equal to the mechanical energy at point B, makes sense to me; but I started...
- design of a micro-turbine based on different scenarios of waterfalls
- build a system that involves a battery for storing power
- test in the lab
I have attached a image. I know the image is not very detailed but wanting some advice on this situation. I have done some water calculations on...
My attempt was to consider spherical shells of radius ##r## (##r\leq R##))and thickness ##dr## and then the potential energy of this shell would be in the field only of the "residual" sphere of radius ##r## (a result also known as shell theorem) $$U_{dr}=G\frac{\rho\frac{4}{3}\pi r^3 \rho 4\pi...
If we have a ball with mass m dropped from a height h down to the ground, how come we can't set the conservation of energy equation just as the velocity of the ball turns 0.
mgh = 0
If instead the ball were moving with an initial velocity v, would the equation be
##mgh + \frac{1}{2}mv^2 = 0##...
In generic terms and expressions without going into specificity or nature of fields/forces in order to highlight the same, how exactly could we characterise the distinction between 'Potential' & 'Potential Energy'?
I wondered about this question. According to me, there 2 ways you can look at it. A system can have energy, or a system is energy. Next to that, the idea of energy, the definition of energy seems a bit vague to me. There are so many types of energy, but what is it really? A system can have...
This is a thermodynamics question. A gas absorbs 10 000 J of heat , it releases 3000 J and does 2000 J of work. How much has the internal energy varied?
So I did 10 000 - 3000 -2000 = 5000 J so internal energy decreases by 5000 J. But the correct answer is A) it increased by 5000 J . How ?
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/conservation-of-momentum-and-loss-of-energy-in-inelastic-collisions.311037/post-2182192
If I understand correctly mathematically the momentum of the system remains unchanged but individual momentums decreases always. In an inelastic collision the momentum...
= -3.7298538168*10^13, -2.0594767123*10^13
Ive tried this equation with both masses and my homework keeps coming back with the wrong answer. I've tried checking my arithmetic but I cannot find anything wrong with it please help
haven't gotten the chance to try B but I am pretty sure it will be...
Daniel Vasilaky asks do physicists know "how much energy the universe has"?
An infinite amount seems absurd - no need for conservation laws and so perpetual motion would be possible.
I'd say no to a negative amount also.
So it'd be zero (I'd say probably) or a finite, positive amount (maybe)...
Currently, dark energy is described as a being that exerts a negative pressure while having a positive energy density.
{\rho _\Lambda } + 3{P_\Lambda } = {\rho _\Lambda } + 3( - {\rho _\Lambda }) = - 2{\rho _\Lambda }
However, there seems to be a problem with the negative pressure assertion...
As far as I know, if vacuum antigravitates, it makes the light that travels through it redshift, e.g. in a very large empty box with mirror walls, light will just lose energy.
I am interested in the reverse effect, if we had a very large box or planet with mirror walls, that is filled with...
Suppose a charged particle is in an electric field and feels an electric potential. Then the particle travels through a wormhole to another electric field and the particle feels a different electric potential. The potential energy of the particle will change. So what will that part of potential...
I think the answer is that the elastic potential energy will be a 1/16th of the original value. This is my reasoning:
1) If the diameter doubles, the cross sectional area is 4 times the original value. (from A= πr2).
2) F= stress/area. Force (load is the same). If cross sectional area...
Hamilton’s principle minimises kinetic energy minus potential energy, that is, with a fixed kinetic energy, Hamilton's principle maximises potential energy. What if we consider the limit that the kinetic energy or the mass/the inertia can be ignored then the lagrangian is solely the negative of...
While this was inspired by another thread, I think the question is different enough that it can be asked separately. It's also more suited to this forum than the forum where the question that inspired this one was asked.
Wiki gives four possible interactions for interactions of gamma rays with...
Hi, if the force is the derivative of potential energy, does it mean that the force is equal to mg and with a constant gravity, it will be the same at any height?
But in real life, F (or mg) would be different on the Earth's surface and 400 km above it (~8 m/s^2).
So, this formula is used to...
Hello!
Amateur question alert! Please excuse any misuse of terms. Answers gratefully received. :smile:
I have a question about the energy that can be drawn from the vacuum through quantum fluctuations.
My understanding is there are very strict limits on how much energy can be borrowed for how...
I found that I had an inaccurate understanding of their relationship earlier. After rethinking, I try to express their relationship in a simple and understandable way
Nuclear reactions convert energy from form of mass to form of light, and both energy and momentum are conserved during the...
So the potential energy of an object in a gravitational field is pe=hmg where h is the height of the object in the gravitational field in meters m is the mass in kilograms and g is the acceleration in meters per second per second
I read on an answer to a question that the force to lift an...
I was reading "Brief answers to big questions" By Hawking, the above pic is from a page of the book, it says that at the time of the big bang there was an equal amount of positive and negative energy, and that the negative energy never went anywhere, the space-time itself is a store of negative...
I am sure this is an elementary question; I'm just trying to clarify some points that were poorly explained to me years ago in secondary school. I know that a full answer would involve solving Schrödinger's equation etc., but keeping this on the level of valence electrons,...) I was confused by...
a) ##\rho = \frac{I}{c} = \frac{F}{A}## for a perfect absorber
##F = ma## where ##a = \frac{c}{t}##
##\frac{I}{c} = \frac{mc}{tA}##
##I = \frac{I^2 tA}{mc^2} = \frac{P}{A}##
##P = \frac{I^2 tA^2}{mc^2} = \frac{W}{t}##
##W = \frac{I^2 t^2A^2}{mc^2}##
I am unsure what A is. I think it should be...
I am having trouble understanding this derivation and need some guidance.
1) I tried solving the algebra from the first equation to the second equation circled in red. Can someone please help with what algebra steps, I cannot solve to the circled solution.
2) What does Ee stand for? Is it...
Will the presence of attractive interactions between gas molecules raise or lower the molar Gibbs energy of a gas relative to its ‘perfect’ value?
I would think that these attracting forces result in a lower energy state. A decrease in the energy state implies a decrease in the enthalpy. A...
I want to get the stress energy tensor of a scalar field using the Hilbert method (namely, ##T^{\mu v} = \frac{2}{\sqrt{-g}} \frac{\delta S}{\delta g_{\mu v}}##)
$$S = \int \frac{1}{2}(\partial_\mu \phi \partial^{\mu} \phi - m^2 \phi ^2)\sqrt{-g}d^4x$$
$$= \int \frac{1}{2}(\partial^{v} \phi...
Let's arrange the rod's axis parallel to the z axis.
##T_{00} = A/\mu## (since it represents the energy density)
##T_{03}=T_{30} = \frac{F\sqrt{\mu / F}}{A}## (It represents the flow of energy across the z direction)
##T_{33} = F/A## (pressure)
It seems that ##T_{33}## i have got has the...
Hi.
I'm not sure where to put this question, it concerns particles, mass-energy equivalence and various things. Classical electromagnetism seems to be as sensible a place as any.
There is energy stored in an E field.
Energy density (at position r, time t) = \frac{1}{2}...
This is the catapult.
At equalibrium the spring is 0.09 meters in length.
When its fully stretched out its 0.225 meters long and I place a rock (0.205 kg) close to where my finger is on the catapult.
The catapult starts with this much energy because 1/2 * k * x^2
90.54 is the spring constant...
Hello !
As we know by definition that:
"Constructive interference occurs when the phase difference between the waves is an even multiple of π (180°), whereas destructive interference occurs when the difference is an odd multiple of π."
But my question is in the case of destructive...
Hello all. I'm an undergraduate student looking to conduct an experiment with an isotope that undergoes beta decay.
I am curious as to the degree to which the isotope geometry will reduce the energy of/deflect beta particles emitted from the isotope. By geometry, I mean the "shape" of the...
I ran into another article demonstrating the Casimir effect and it hit me that zero-point energy is real mass and therefore would have a gravitational influence on our universe. Is there something wrong with this idea, am I missing something?
Start velocity is 100 km/h, at 1.5g for 0.5 seconds the end velocity will be 73,52 km/h. So the energy can be calculated if the mass is present, but it is not given. Is there a way to calculate the regenerated energy with the given information?
I determined the partition function of the particle A, B and C.
C should be the same as B.
I then considered the situation, where all particles are in the system at the same time, and drew a diagram of all possible arrangements:
The grey boxes are the different partitions, given that we...
I am planning to teach a school astronomy group about energy. Most people seem to accept that there are two types:
kinetic energy, resulting from movement;
potential energy, resulting from position in a force field with a potential gradient (convertible to KE if the object is allowed to move...
I’d appreciate some help with a mathematical block that I’m sure is trivial to most of you.
Given the expression (1):
Take the derivative of E with respect to a, set to zero and solve for a. Answer is shown at the bottom.
This is not homework; I’m following an account of the development of...
I was able to calculate the correct answer (given by a solution sheet), V=5.364 m/s, using the momentum impulse equation, P0+J=Pf. If this value is correct, however, I don't understand how energy is being conserved. The speed increases after the person bounces off the trampoline while the mass...
Hello, How come in XPS the binding energy gaps between oxidation states of vanadium oxide are not equally spaced? Is there a reason they are not all equally spaced? V2+ (VO) 513.0 eV V3+ (V2O3) 515.6 eV V4+ (VO2) 516.0 eV V5+ (V2O5) 517.1 eV Many thanks
In case it's true that the universe is expading, what's the fuel for this expasion? I do not admit the idea that it's a case of spontaneous generation of space... so there must be a limit for this expasion. What's the limit for the expansion of the universe?
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11093-z
In this new 2 May 2022 publication, an experimental effort was made to measure directly the internal energy changes of non-ideal CO2, from the decrease in temperature as the liquid-gas expanded from one cylinder into two. With the empirical...
If I am not mistaken, binding energy is the energy required to separate the constituents of the nucleus, and is always a positive number. However, if splitting elementary particles in the nucleus apart requires energy, then why do fission reactions release energy?
This question might sound silly, but I think I am really missing some points about the energy requirements of metabolism. Please help me to understand better.
It is said that all catabolic (break down) reactions are inherently exergonic, ie., they release energy. Similarly, all anabolic...
How can electric vehicle deliver energy to grid?
This is the one of the few block diagrams that I could see in google. Do you have better one or can you explain this one? If I am not wrong. V2G is basically giving excess charge in your EV back to the grid.
A real gluon created from say, some particle annihilation or decay, should hadronize when in space correct? Well what if that gluon does not suffice in energy to form quarks? Does it become a glueball? That leads me into another question, why are glueballs theorized to have specific masses...
Hello PhysicsForums community,
I have been reading through Zangwill's Modern Electrodynamics all on my own, and I've just joined here hoping I can post some questions that come up for me. To start, I am confused about something in section 6.7.1, concerning the variation of total energy U of a...