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0 votes
1 answer
515 views

Potential energy of a particle moving in a circle [closed]

Consider a particle under the influence of a conservative force field such that that it moves in a circle of radius $r$. Its potential energy is a function of $r$ and the angle $\theta$ made by the ...
ash07's user avatar
  • 53
3 votes
1 answer
849 views

Need help creating the Lagrangian for a coupled pendulum [closed]

I know that for 2 separate single pendulums, the kinetic and potential energies are: $$KE = \frac{1}{2}I(\dot\theta_1^2 + \dot\theta_2^2)$$ $$PE = 2mgl - mgl(\cos\theta_1 + \cos\theta_2)$$ But I don't ...
abd.shd_247's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
380 views

Why is the work done by a block into a spring the same from the work done by the spring on the block?

In the following situation: A 700 g block is released from rest at height h 0 above a vertical spring with spring constant k = 400 N/m and negligible mass. The block sticks to the spring and ...
Jon's user avatar
  • 493
-1 votes
2 answers
131 views

Verifying $W = \int \vec{F} \cdot d\vec{x}$

Verifying formula for Work; $$W = \int \vec{F} \cdot d\vec{x} \quad(i)$$ Let us consider a very simple scenario; I will solve first by simple Maths and then by calculus. Scenario 1: (Force vector is ...
Sahil's user avatar
  • 439
0 votes
2 answers
37 views

Potential energy for an amount of time [closed]

a mass of 10kg is maintained at 1m above the ground for 25s. What is the work done during this time interval? i know this formula : $ W = F * d * cos(a)$ but I don't find a formula with the time and ...
Witzig Adrien's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
143 views

Part of physics answer I didn't understand, and don't have reputation to ask them. $10\,\text{ms}^{−2}$

When you lift your $2.5 \,\text{kg}$ laptop (a 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro, for example) by a foot, you do work of approximately $2.5 \,\text{kg} \times 10 \,\text{ms}^{−2} \times 0.3 \,\text{m} = 7.5 \,...
David Russell's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to calculate the potential energy of coupled oscillators?

The equations of motion that describe the above situation is given by: $$ m \ddot{x_1} = -2kx_1 + kx_2 $$ $$ m \ddot{x_2} = -2kx_2 + kx_1 $$ Now I want to work out the potential energy of this system. ...
Nice1m80's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
48 views

Potential energy of a system of three charges question

Two point charges are located on the $x$-axis, $q_{1}=-e$ at $x = 0$ and $q_{2} = +e$ at $x = a$. (a) Find the work that must be done by an external force to bring a third point charge $q_{3} = +e$ ...
Not Friedrich gauss's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
678 views

In this problem, why is the work done by the spring not equal to the line integral of the spring force over its displacement?

Problem statement: In the given figure, two blocks A and B, each having a mass of 320 grams are connected by a light string passing over a smooth light pulley. The horizontal surface on which block A ...
archmundada's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
43 views

Potential energy to gain elevation

I did a calculation to see how high the energy in a cell phone battery could lift an adult assuming perfect efficiency but something seems way off. ...
g491's user avatar
  • 105
1 vote
1 answer
70 views

My question is regarding gravitational potential [closed]

If you take a spherical shell, say of mass $M$, and then you split the shell in 2 portions by a plane other than the median plane....say that the larger portion is A and the smaller portion is B.......
Jayprakadh Mundhra's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
320 views

Potential energy distribution near a cube with negative charges at 8 corners and one positive charge at its center

What is the potential energy of an arrangement of eight negative charges on the corners of a cube of side $b$, with a positive charge in the center of the cube? Suppose each negative charge is an ...
Caleb Williams's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
354 views

Change in potential / potential energy of a charge in electric field [closed]

A uniform electric field of 2000 $(\frac V m)$ exists through all space (the field is in $+x$ direction). An electron is moved from the origin to the location where $x = -2.00 (m)$ and $y = +3.00 (m)$....
Kunal Gupta's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Gravitational potential at the centre of Earth [duplicate]

Why does gravitational potential at the centre of the Earth is finite i.e. $V_c=\frac{3}{2} V_s$, as at the centre $r$ becomes zero so applying $V = \frac{GM}{r}$ the result must be infinity.
user270071's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
93 views

Can kinetic and potential energy be converted to thermal energy? [closed]

If they can, can I use the potential energy equation to find out how much the temperature would increase if 1 kg of water is dropped to the ground from 10m height?
Pushies's user avatar
  • 23
0 votes
2 answers
815 views

The Theoretical Minimum: Lecture 5, Exercise 3. Finding equations of motion from potential energy [closed]

From Leonard Susskind's book The Theoretical Minimum. "A particle in two dimensions, x and y, has mass m equal in both directions. It moves in a potential energy $V = \frac{k}{2(x^2+y^2)}$. Work ...
Owl's user avatar
  • 141
0 votes
1 answer
42 views

Change in potential energy after infinitesimal variation in position

The a particle with the potential $V(x^2+y^2)$ undergoes an active transformation where $x\rightarrow x+y\delta$ $y\rightarrow y-x\delta$ The exercise was to prove that the Lagrangian of the system ...
Sceptual's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Bertrand's theorem and nearly-circular motion in a Yukawa potential

The question has arisen as a result of working on part b of problem 3.19 in Goldstein's Classical Mechanics book. A particle moves in a force field described by the Yukawa potential $$ V(r) = -\frac{...
Lopey Tall's user avatar
  • 1,031
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Force derived from Yukawa potential

This is with regards to problem 3.19 from Goldstein's Classical Mechanics, A particle moves in a force field described by the Yukowa potential $$ V(r) = -\frac{k}{r} e^{-\frac{r}{a}}, $$ where $k$ ...
Lopey Tall's user avatar
  • 1,031
2 votes
1 answer
156 views

Intuiting qualitatively the shapes of the eigenfunctions of a finite well-like potential, using the infinite well eigenfunctions as an inspiration

Consider, for example, the third excited state of an infinite square well: Now consider the following potential: If we wanted to sketch the rough shape of the third excited eigenfunction of this ...
Pancake_Senpai's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
141 views

Derivation of balanced torque using conservation of energy [closed]

Let mass $m_1$ be placed at a distance of $x$ from the hinge such that the the plane makes an angle theta with horizontal Then we drop $m_2$ at a particular distance $y$ from hinge such that after ...
Prateek Mourya's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
106 views

Feynman Lectures, Chapter 4, Fig 4-3

From the Feynman lectures Chapter 4, Fig 4-3 "We lifted the one-pound weight only three feet and we lowered W pounds by five feet. Therefore W=3/5 of a pound." If there is a change of 3ft in ...
RandomUser's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
205 views

Gravitational potential energy between a black hole and a mass [closed]

Let's think that there is a black hole with mass $M$ and matter with mass $m$. Two objects have distance $R$. What is the gravitational potential energy between the black hole and the mass? How can I ...
littlegiant's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
447 views

Radius of electron and electrostatic energy [closed]

The classical radius of electron is obtained from the electrostatic energy of a sphere of radius $r_e$ which is: $U=\displaystyle\frac{e^2}{4\pi \epsilon_0r_e}$. For the electrostatic energy of a ...
Salmon's user avatar
  • 941
1 vote
1 answer
203 views

Solving Particle in a Box using Newtonian Mechanics [closed]

so I'm trying to solve the one dimensional particle in a box problem known from quantum physics in a classical context. So according to Wikipedia (see picture on the right) we would get a particle ...
handy's user avatar
  • 227
1 vote
1 answer
395 views

The amount of work needed to dig a hole in the ground [closed]

I'm trying to calculate the amount of work that is needed to dig a hole in the ground (can be very deep) between the surface of the Earth with radius $R_{Earth}$ and some surface with radius $R$. As ...
BAS's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
1 answer
145 views

Question about principle of minimum total potential energy

So this question is really basic compared to some others on this website. I was reading professor povey's perplexing problem, a book on physics problem solving. I came across a problem which is below....
Viradeus's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
758 views

How to find the equilibrium point of a system that is bowl shaped and a mass inside the bowl with given potential energy function?

Question: $z=U(x, y)=ax^2+by^2, (a,b \in R^+)$ is the potential energy function of the system. How to find the equilibrium point of this system? We have to find the equilibrium point of this system ...
M. Çağlar TUFAN's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
174 views

To Calculate Kinetic Energy of slippping chain overhanging over a smooth table as a function of length of overhang [closed]

Is it even possible to do so? (With only upto highschool level knowledge of mechanics ie without the use of things like Lagrangian mechanics if that is even useful here). I know how the mass will be ...
Amadeus's user avatar
  • 205
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Trying to figure out the potential energy of a hanging rope [closed]

I was trying to figure out the potential energy of a hanging rope. The rope is hanging from a fixed support. The mass of the rope is $m$. And the length of the rope is $\ell$. The rope has a uniform ...
It's probable's user avatar

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