Questions tagged [potential-energy]
Potential energy is the energy of a body or a system due to the position of the body or the arrangement of the particles of the system.
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Comparing Electric Potential Energy of two Charges
I do not know what I am missing here and would appreciate a little help in figuring out the flaw in my logic. I have a row of positive charges and a row of negative charges as shown in the image above....
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Why is work done by force $+mgh$ in the situation of throwing something up?
If there is a particle at point A(at rest) and a force moves it to point B(Above point A vertically)(final velocity = 0 at this point), the work done by gravity is $-mgh$. This I understand as the ...
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In equation (3) from lecture 7 in Leonard Susskind’s ‘Classical Mechanics’, should the derivatives be partial?
Here are the equations. ($V$ represents a potential function and $p$ represents momentum.)
$$V(q_1,q_2) = V(aq_1 - bq_2)$$
$$\dot{p}_1 = -aV'(aq_1 - bq_2)$$
$$\dot{p}_2 = +bV'(aq_1 - bq_2)$$
Should ...
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Why potential energy is not considered in the internal energy of diatomic molecules?
In thermodynamics, I am taught that there are 5 degrees of freedom in diatomic molecules since there are 3 for translational and 2 for rotational. I interpret degrees of freedom as "ways you can ...
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If I have a simple pendulum performing oscillations, whose string is snapped when it is at an extreme position, what will happen?
If I have a simple pendulum performing oscillations, whose string is snapped when it is at an extreme position, will it immediately fall vertically downwards because of gravity or will it continue ...
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In which situation the potential energy of a system is equal to its Gibbs free energy?
The other day I was giving a presentation about Transition State Theory, and I was showing both pictures of some potential energy surfaces (PES) and some Gibbs Free energy vs. reaction coordinate ...
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Self-Energy of a Conducting Shell based on Surface Charge Distribution
If a charge $q$ is given to a shell of radius $r$ (conducting or non-conducting) it's self-energy is $kq^2/2r$, $k$ being Coulomb's constant.
But if the shell is conducting and the charge on the inner ...
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Why does the mass-energy equivalence apply to binding energy when it is derived purely through kinematic means?
I understand that by defining the four velocity, multiplying it by the rest mass and taking the entire thing's norm we get $E^2=m^2+p^2$, but how does this apply to binding energy, or in general ...
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When is minimum potential energy in simple harmonic motion not zero?
We know that in simple harmonic motion, potential energy is minimum at the mean position and it is zero since displacement is zero. So what are some cases in which minimum potential energy is not zero?...
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How is potential energy incorporated into mass in special relativity? [duplicate]
I've seen it said before that we often ignore potential energy in relativity because it can be included in the mass term. It is commonly said that a hydrogen atom has less mass than the sum of its ...
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Confusions on The Gravitational Energy of a Point P in a Cube
I have been working, quite tirelessly, to try and find an answer to a question that has been bothering me for some time now.
I have been working over some proofs, in the Newtonian Mechanics world, to ...
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Rigorous definition of potential energy of a system
In the mechanics textbook by Kleppner and Kolenkow, the concept of potential energy is introduced by considering the behaviour of particle under the action of a force $\vec{F}(\vec{r})$ that depends ...
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Momentum distribution of nucleons inside the deuteron (Paris potential)
I am looking for a graph that shows the momentum distribution of nucleons inside the deuteron.
Side note: I know that several models for nucleon-nucleon potentials exist, such as the Paris, Bonn or ...
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Is the gravitational potential energy of an object on the ground 0? [duplicate]
In class, we were reviewing kinetic and potential energy and my teacher claimed that on the ground, objects have potential energy. However, as they cannot fall further, isn't their gravitational ...
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What are the points to note in a spring+block system? [closed]
This is the solution to a question related to spring+block system, and I have some doubts regarding the concept behind this question
The solution reads
The velocity of the block increases till the ...
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