Potential and Kinetic Energy Potential and Kinetic Energy All energy can be in one of two states: potential energy or kinetic energy. Energy can be transferred from potential to kinetic and between objects. Potential energy is stored energy--energy ready to go. A lawn mower filled with gasoline, a car on top of a hill, and students waiting to go home from school are all examples of potential energy. Gravitational potential energy is the energy possessed by a body because of its elevation (height) relative to a lower elevation, that is, the energy that could be obtained by letting it fall to a lower elevation. For example, water at the top of a waterfall or stored behind a dam at a hydroelectric plant has gravitational potential energy. A roller coaster train going down hill represents merely a complex case as a body is descending an inclined plane. Newton's first two laws relate force and acceleration, which are key concepts in roller coaster physics. At amusement parks, Newton's laws can be applied to every ride. These rides range from 'The Swings' to The 'Hammer'. Newton was also one of the developers of calculus which is essential to analyzing falling bodies constrained on more complex paths than inclined planes. A roller coaster rider is in an gravitational field except with the Principle of Equivalence.
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Potential Energy Potential energy is the same as stored energy. The "stored" energy is held within the gravitational field. When you lift a heavy object you exert energy which later will become kinetic energy when the object is dropped. A lift motor from a roller coaster exerts potential energy when lifting the train to the top of the hill. The higher the train is lifted by the motor the more potential energy is produced; thus, forming a greater amount if kinetic energy when the train is dropped. At the top of the hills the train has a huge amount of potential energy, but it has very little kinetic energy. Kinetic Energy The word "kinetic" is derived from the Greek word meaning to move, and the word "energy" is the ability to move. Thus, "kinetic energy" is the energy of motion --it's ability to do work. The faster the body moves the more kinetic energy is produced. The greater the mass and speed of an object the more kinetic energy there will be. As the train accelerates down the hill the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. There is very little potential energy at the bottom of the hill, but there is a great amount of kinetic energy. Theory When the train is at the top and bottom of the hill there is not any potential or kinetic energy being used at all. The train at the bottom of the first drop should have enough energy to get back up the height of the lift hill. The "Act of Faith" in riding these amazing rides which seems more of a phenomena that is only a theory. In practices, the train never could make it back up the hill because of dissipative forces. Friction and air resistance, and even possible midcourse breaks, are dissipative forces causing the theory to be changed but not destroyed. These forces make it impossible for the train to have enough energy to make it back up the lift hill's height. In the absence of the dissipative forces the potential and kinetic energies(mechanical energy) will remain the same. Since the mechanical energy is destroyed by the forces, the first hill is always the highest.
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Potential Energy: Potential energy exists whenever an object which has mass has a position within a force field. The most everyday example of this is the position of objects in the earth's gravitational field. The potential energy of an object in this case is given by the relation: PE = mgh Where PE = Energy (in Joules) m = mass (in kilograms) g = gravitational acceleration of the earth (9.8 m/sec2) h = height above earth's surface (in meters) Kinetic Energy: Kinetic Energy exists whenever an object which has mass is in motion with some velocity. Everything you see moving about has kinetic energy. The kinetic energy of an object in this case is given by the relation: KE = (1/2)mv2 where KE = Energy (in Joules) m = mass (in kilograms) v = velocity (in meters/sec) Conservation of Energy This principle asserts that in a closed system energy is conserved. This principle will be tested by you, using the experimental apparatus below. In the case of an object in free fall. When the object is at rest at some height, h, then all of its energy is PE. As the object falls and accelerates due to the earth's gravity, PE is converted into KE. When the object strikes the ground, h=0 so that PE=0, the all of the energy has to be in the form of KE and the object is moving it at its maximum velocity. (In this case we are ignoring air resistance).
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