Energy Definition and 999 Threads

Hi everyone! I regularly use the forum to learn but never registered to post anything, as I have nothing to teach really… But today I have a question regarding the law of conservation of energy that I can’t find the answer to, and maybe someone will help me understand: (I’ve attached a drawing)...

Hello again. I don't believe there are rules about posting twice in a day. I'm not a student and I answer Physics questions as a hobby, but I've only just started learning, so please help me out. I'm answering IBDP Physics questions. Here's my thinking: KE is not a vector quantity, so it's...

Here's my attempt at solving it using Hess's Law. I get -1770kJ when I add up all the numbers. The correct answer is supposed to be -2484 kJ.

Quantum mechanically speaking when we split a wave in two the resulting waves must have a 90 degrees phase difference for energy to be conserved. Take the beamsplitter depicted in [1] for example. But the Fresnel equations state that the reflected wave should experience a phase shift of π when...

At the end of the measurement I made with a detector, I only have the energy and count values as in the attached excel file. How can I find the peak values with the data I have and calculate the efficiency?

Hi, I know from conservation of energy that ##E_i = E_f## Thus, ## M_h c^2 + binding energy = M_{he}c^2+ M_e c^2 + K = M_{he}c^2 + 0.5 MeV + 0.0186 MeV## If I'm right I have to find ##M_{he}c^2##, but something is missing in my understanding, since I don't see how to find that mass energy...

I'm having trouble putting the rest of the equations together, I believe I need the different from (0,0,0) to (1,0,0) and then (1,0,0) to (1,1,0) right? Then solve for x direction and y direction. What would I use for Wnc tho? I'm very confused.

please help me

At the equilibrium position all forces are equal to 0 (they balance). So, naturally we: mg - kd = 0 d = mg/k d = 0.356 m This is the correct answer, I believe. But I want to solve it using the energy equations because I am really trying to understand energy's connection to the rest of...

Hi, I have read some threads on this but I still have some confusion. 1) I get that work has to be done to produce a permanent bar magnet (work to align the dipole moments to give a net field, say in a solenoid/electromagnet) so we can say that the magnet is a store of magnetic potential...

A question to physicists: What sort of real world scenario / image would *best* depict the increase in gravitational potential energy in a radial field? Would a rocket traveling through the Earth's atmosphere suffice or are there better alternatives? This image would have to be relevant to the...

hi guys i am encountered with a question that is : two protons in a helium atom stand close together,approximately at a distance of 2 fm. what is the potential energy of this system ? i can understand the concepts that are potential of a particle or potentail of a object etc but can't...

Imagine that we have a transmitter of microwaves that radiates a linearly polarized wave whose E field is known to be parallel to the dipole direction. We wish to reflect as much energy as possible off the surface of a pond (having an index of refraction of 9.0). Find the necessary incident...

Hi I'm new to quantum mechanics, Looking for some help regarding a concept i am struggling to solve. I am curious if I had a cube of particles in a ground state and another cube with the same particle in a higher energy state. If I placed one upon another, is there anything in quantum mechanics...

In classical and continuum mechanics if we want to find equation of motion of the body we draw force diagram and apply Newton's 2nd law. In continuum mechanics, equation of motion actually refers to a special point of the body known as center of mass (COM) which can be proven by definition of...

Work - energy principle states that work done by net force acting on the body equals change in kinetic energy of the body. We are talking about continuum mechanics. This principle is usually introduced in mechanics of solid bodies. For us to describe the motion of the body, it is enough to know...

1)In my book , there is a definition of fermi energy as topmost filled level in the ground state of an N electron system. This definition holds only for absolute zero,right? If it is not absolute zero,fermi energy is the energy at which the probability of a state being occupied is 50 percent...

The Fermi energy Ef is defined as the energy of the topmost filled level in the ground state of the N electron system. Ground state is n=1 level. And in the ground state there can be only one orbital right? One orbital can have only up to 2 electrons. Does this mean that fermy energy is the...

On a long trip the photon goes, but it occupies a wavelength of space at any particular time. If the space between start and finish (inspection) is expanding all the way all the journey time, then most of the expansion has no effect on the photon. Like eg second tenth is section currently passed...

I tried to solve it by integrating force from 0 to L dF=dm.g where dm=λdx And then I multiplied it with velocity to get power because velocity is constant ∫(vdF)=v ∫(dF) But the book used integration to find work done and divided it by time for power My answer was λlgv(Option B) Giving...

Summary:: What does physics study? Other than matter/antimatter and energy what does physics study? And in what ways are matter and energy similar? Are there additional substances that physics measures?

Hi! So I know about the electron-photon interaction but what about photon-photon interaction? I mean, I do know there is a very small chance for them to interact, but how else do they transfer energy in order to get from Sun to Earth, for example? When it comes to sound waves I get it, for...

I have a magnet that will lift only 1 lb of steel with an electric lift. If I discharge a big capacitor into a 1000 turn coil with the magnet in the center of the coil it super charges the magnet it will lift 200 lbs for about 4 seconds. The magnet has a half life of about 4 second for about...

Work - Energy principle states that work of resultant force or sum of work of all forces acting on some system equals change in kinetic energy of the system. For inviscid fluid flowing in a pipe such theorem can be used to derive Bernoulli's equation because as fluid flows it is subjected to...

A free particle with coordinates as shown has kinetic energy ##T = \frac{1}{2}m\left(\dot r^2 + r^2\dot\theta^2 + r^2\sin^2\theta\dot\phi^2\right)## So we see ##T## depends on ##\theta##. Now suppose we rotate our coordinate system such that only one coordinate ##\theta## changes from...

Hi all, I have a system whereby, there are different aperture shapes which are: circle, triangle, square e.t.c. this apertures are all 300um in diameter. I will like to know if the encircled energy calculated for the different apertures after diffraction will be different due to different...

There is an optimum energy which gives the greatest probability of ionisation of a particular element. This is said to align with the wavelength of the electron being close to resonances in the atom. Looking at this in a different way as particles, would it be correct to say that the optimum...

a) We use the definition of heat transfer in a gas at constant volume: Q = n*C_v*delta_T = (0.01 mol)(12.47 J/mol*K)(40 K) = 4.99 J b) We use the definition of heat transfer in a gas at constant pressure: Q = n*C_p*delta_T = (0.01 mol)(12.47 J/mol*K)(40 K) = 8.31 J c) In both processes delta_U...

I know the math behind these, and I'm happy to use more precise language if needed, I just wanted to get some input on this sweeping generalization that entropy is the conversion of potential to kinetic energy. A brief summary of two important branches of entropy: 1) thermodynamics - the total...

I can't see that this recent news has been discussed on PF, but the XENON1T dark matter detection collaboration is now suggesting that it has instead detected dark energy. They openly note speculation about what may have caused these results in the paper, but I'm more wondering if it adds weight...

Hi, I'm new here, so I don't know how to write mathematical equations, and I may not be fully aware of the rules here, so I'm sorry if I made a mistake. I know how to calculate the electrostatic potential energy of a countable number of charged particles, but I don't know how to calculate the...

If I look at the specific heat equation mentioned, then I would be inclined to think that without heat energy being added to the gaseous mass its temperature cannot rise. But, if some form of energy like chemical energy in gaseous mass could be directly converted to internal energy of the same...

A drop of fuel is ignited in an engine cylinder, that produces heat, light and sound energies from the chemical energy stored in the drop of oil. What I am not clear about is how heat energy gets transformed into mechanical work? I think the heat energy produced from ignition flows from burnt...

Say 2 cars are traveling side by side at 10 m/s in some flat, wide open space. Relative to each other they are stationary. Relative to someone on the ground they are both moving at 10 m/s. Now say you're in 1 of the cars and you see the other car accelerate, changing his velocity by 10 m/s in...

Owens - Wendt model is used for calculating surface energy on liquid - solid interface and it is given by following equation: $$ \gamma_{sl} = \gamma_s + \gamma_l -2(\sqrt {\gamma_l^d \gamma_s^d} + \sqrt {\gamma_l^p \gamma_s^p}) $$ So, if we use liquid and solid of known surface energy as well...

I read about a proposal for storing potential energy by hoisting heavy weights that can be dropped when needed to generate electric power. So using the numbers from a hydraulic turbine from Hoover dam, how heavy would a hanging weight have to be to generate 178,000 horsepower as it descended...

If we take ##H_2## as a "particle" in a box, can the zero-point energy of the overall molecule be calculated as the sum of the zero-point energies of all particles in ##H_2##? That is $$E_ {1,H_2}=\frac{2h^2}{8m_{\mathrm{H^+}}L^2} + \frac{2h^2}{8m_{\mathrm{e^-}}L^2}=...

I set up an equation for the sum of all the potential energies and when cancelling out ##k## and ##q^2##, I got ##\frac{1}{0.05}-\frac{1}{x}-\frac{1}{0.05-x}=0##. However, this has no solutions, so I must've gone wrong somewhere. Could someone just give me a hint, not a solution, that would put...

In a single-slit diffraction experiment, a monochromatic light of wavelength ##\lambda## is passed through one slit of finite width ##D## and a diffraction pattern is observed on screen. For a screen located very far away from the slit, the intensity of light ##I## observed on the screen in...

If the book had said that electrical potential energy is the negative of work done by electrical force on a charge, then the definition would be very clear and easy to understand. So, why should the book give this confusing definition instead.

Recently I've read more about virtual particles and at first I tought that there were only doubts that virtual particles are not interpretable with the help of uncertainty principle. Furthermore it can't be used an an "excuse" for the temporary violation of the conservation of energy. Can...

Hello! I saw in many papers people talking about the effects of a time dependent perturbation (usually an oscillating E or B field) on the energy levels of an atom or molecule (for now let's assume this is a 2 level system). Taking about energy makes sense when the hamiltonian is time...

Hi, What would happen if I set L in this equation to zero? I can have an L that is zero right?

Preface: I am new to physics and am trying to learn on my own, though I hope to take a class soon. I looked for a forum for beginners but didn't see one, but this seemed to be the closest forum. So I hope I can get some help with my question here. If it is the wrong forum, feel free to...

Here is my solution, which is correct. The tilt of the water at the top can be described in terms of ##x## and ##y## as ##y = \frac{2y_0}{L}x##. The height of the water at any given x is then equal to ##h + \frac{2y_0}{L}x## where ##x \in [-\frac{L}{2}, \frac{L}{2}]##. So the potential...

The speed of the block after the nth collision is $$ V_n=(2e)^n*v_0 $$ By conservation of energy the block travels a distance $$V_n^2/(2ug)$$ on the nth bounce. So the total distance is $$ d=1/(2ug)∗(v_0^2+(2ev_0)^2...) $$ $$ d=1/(2ug)∗(v_0^2/(1−4e^2)) $$ $$ d=1/(2ug)∗(v_0^2∗M^2/(M^2−4m^2))...

So just by by using the definition of the partition function... $$ Z = \sum_i e^{ \frac {-E_i} {k_BT} } = e^{ \frac {-0} {k_BT} } + e^{ \frac {-\epsilon} {k_BT} } = 1 + e^{ \frac {-\epsilon} {k_BT} } $$ And then, a result we obtained in class by using the Boltzmann H factor to solve for ##S##...

It is my second "energy state diagram problem" and I would want to know if I am thinking correctly. First I have done some function analysis to get a glimpse of the plot: - no roots but ##\lim\limits_{x\to-\infty}U(x)=\lim\limits_{x\to+\infty}U(x)=0## - y interception: ##U(0)=-U_0## - even...