Home » Ask & Discuss » Chemistry. » Organic Chemistry « Back to Discussion

Organic Chemistry

New kid on the Block

Joined:	12 Mar 2010
Post:	2

12 Mar 2010 18:07:36 IST

0 People liked this

372

what is potential energy?

None

what is potential energy?

Share this article on:

Comments (6)

Dasvidaniya

Blazing goIITian

Joined: 9 May 2009

Posts: 831

12 Mar 2010 18:25:29 IST

Like 2 people liked this

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)

Stretched String Gains Potential Energy

sheenu

Cool goIITian

Joined: 23 Feb 2010

Posts: 96

13 Mar 2010 17:30:26 IST

Like 2 people liked this

energy any object has on virtue of its position or configuration .eg. a stretched spring,an object raised at some height ,a charged particle in an electric field.........

keshav

Cool goIITian

Joined: 30 Nov 2008

Posts: 86

13 Mar 2010 17:42:09 IST

Like 2 people liked this

energy which has the "potential" / capability to manifest as a different form of energy . energy = capacity to do work. PE also has the capacity to do the work but because of its position in a force field that work is currently not being done.

winx

Scorching goIITian

Joined: 28 Jan 2010

Posts: 299

13 Mar 2010 19:08:16 IST

Like 3 people liked this

Potential Energy

Potential energy is energy which results from position or configuration. An object may have the capacity for doing work as a result of its position in a gravitational field (gravitational potential energy), an electric field (electric potential energy), or a magnetic field (magnetic potential energy). It may have elastic potential energy as a result of a stretched spring or other elastic deformation.

Potential Energy Concept

The potential energy U is equal to the work you must do to move an object from the U=0 reference point to the position r. The reference point at which you assign the value U=0 is arbitrary, so may be chosen for convenience, like choosing the origin of a coordinate system.

The force on an object is the negative of the derivative of the potential function U. This means it is the negative of the slope of the potential energy curve. Plots of potential functions are valuable aids to visualizing the change of the force in a given region of space.

edison

Forum Expert

Joined: 19 Oct 2006

Posts: 7452

31 Jan 2011 14:12:12 IST

Like 0 people liked this

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pegrav.html

http://www.tutorvista.com/content/physics/physics-i/work-energy-power/potential-energy.php

evaru

Blazing goIITian

Joined: 26 Aug 2010

Posts: 308

1 Feb 2011 10:25:19 IST

Like 0 people liked this

energy any object has on virtue of its position or configuration .eg. a stretched spring,an object raised at some height ,a charged particle in an electric field.........

Quick Reply

Reply

	Some HTML allowed.
	Keep your comments above the belt or risk having them deleted.
	Signup for a avatar to have your pictures show up by your comment
	If Members see a thread that violates the Posting Rules, bring it to the attention of the Moderator Team