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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Gravitational Potential Energy Lab Confusion
I had a lab that tested the dependence of gravitational potential energy on its position and the goal out of each exercise was to see if kinetic energy equaled potential energy. A cart was on a flat ...
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Intuition behind gravitational potential
Gravitational potential at a point is equal to work done in bringing a unit mass from infinity to a particular point
That was the text book definition
$$V_{p} = -\frac{GM}{r}$$
If we calculate $V_p$ ...
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How Can there be a Gravitational Potential when there is NO Gravitational Field? [closed]
How does it make any logic that there exist a potential when there is no net field
for example when we have a Hollow Sphere with mass we can find out the the gravitational *potential inside the sphere ...
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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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Textbook question on calculation of potential difference between two points
My textbook has the following question
What is the potential difference between two points that are 50cm and 80cm respectively from a point charge of 2uC?
Unfortunately, the textbook has not taught ...
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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 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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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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How does gravitational potential energy work in a very large distance?
Consider a thought experiment (that I made when I was in high school) involving a universe with only two objects: a massive planet and a small asteroid. Initially, they are millions of light-years ...
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Does work done in a capacitor in moving a charge or increasing potential difference always twice the potential energy stored?
On doing calculations like this:
Work done in moving a charge across a potential difference = $(CV)V$ = $CV^2$
Potential energy increased = $(1/2)CV^2$
From this work done is twice the potential ...
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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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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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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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Chemical Potential: sign of external potential energy
In statistical mechanics the total chemical potential $\mu _{\text{Total}}=\mu _{\text{Internal}}+\mu_{\text{External}}$. In the examples I have done so far $\mu_{\text{External}}$ is the external (...
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Saddle point and transition state of a molecule
During a transition of a molecule from one state to another, it pass through a transition state. This transition state, mathematically speaking, is a saddle point. That means, the second derivative ...
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