elastic potential energy

Examples of elastic potential energy in the following topics:

• Elastic Potential Energy

  • If a force results in only deformation, with no thermal, sound, or kinetic energy, the work done is stored as elastic potential energy.
  • A mouse trap stores elastic potential energy by twisting a piece of metal; this energy is released when the mouse steps into it.
  • For example, the potential energy PEel stored in a spring is
  • This energy can also produce macroscopic vibrations sufficiently lacking in randomization to lead to oscillations that are merely the exchange between (elastic) potential energy within the object and the kinetic energy of motion of the object as a whole.
  • Express elastic energy stored in a spring in a mathematical form

• Energy in a Simple Harmonic Oscillator

  • The total energy in a simple harmonic oscillator is the constant sum of the potential and kinetic energies.
  • Recall that the potential energy (PE), stored in a spring that follows Hooke's Law is:
  • As the object starts to move, the elastic potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, becoming entirely kinetic energy at the equilibrium position.
  • It is then converted back into elastic potential energy by the spring, the velocity becomes zero when the kinetic energy is completely converted, and so on.
  • All energy is potential energy.

• What is Potential Energy?

  • Potential energy is the energy difference between the energy of an object in a given position and its energy at a reference position.
  • This work is stored in the force field as potential energy.
  • The more formal definition is that potential energy is the energy difference between the energy of an object in a given position and its energy at a reference position.
  • For example, the work of an elastic force is called elastic potential energy ; work done by the gravitational force is called gravitational potential energy; and work done by the Coulomb force is called electric potential energy.
  • In the case of a bow and arrow, the energy is converted from the potential energy in the archer's arm to the potential energy in the bent limbs of the bow when the string is drawn back.

• Hooke's Law

  • Hooke's law of elasticity is an approximation that states that the extension of a spring is directly proportional to the load applied to it.
  • In mechanics (physics), Hooke's law is an approximation of the response of elastic (i.e., springlike) bodies.
  • Many materials obey this law of elasticity as long as the load does not exceed the material's elastic limit.
  • Materials for which Hooke's law is a useful approximation are known as linear-elastic or "Hookean" materials.
  • A brief overview of springs, Hooke's Law, and elastic potential energy for algebra-based physics students.

• Other Forms of Energy

  • Thermal, chemical, electric, radiant, nuclear, magnetic, elastic, sound, mechanical, luminous, and mass are forms that energy can exist in.
  • Electric Energy: This is energy that is from electrical potential energy, a result of Coulombic forces.
  • An example of something that stores elastic energy is a stretched rubber band.
  • It is the sum of all of the kinetic and potential energy that the object has.
  • In each of the aforementioned forms, energy exists as either kinetic energy, potential energy, or a combination of both.

• Gravity

  • Gravitational energy is the potential energy associated with gravitational force, as work is required to move objects against gravity.
  • The potential energy due to elevated positions is called gravitational potential energy, evidenced, for example, by water held in an elevated reservoir or behind a dam (as an example, shows Hoover Dam).
  • (The surface will be the zero point of the potential energy. ) We can express the potential energy (gravitational potential energy) as:
  • Hoover dam uses the stored gravitational potential energy to generate electricity.
  • Generate an equation that can be used to express the gravitational potential energy near the earth

• Potential Energy Curves and Equipotentials

  • A potential energy curve plots potential energy as a function of position; equipotential lines trace lines of equal potential energy.
  • A potential energy curve plots the potential energy of an object as a function of that object's position.
  • We observe that the potential energy increases as the kinetic energy decreases and vice versa.
  • The utility of a potential energy curve is that we can quickly determine the potential energy of the object in question at a given position.
  • Equipotential lines trace lines of equal potential energy.

• Inelastic Collisions in One Dimension

  • Collisions may be classified as either inelastic or elastic collisions based on how energy is conserved in the collision.
  • In an inelastic collision the total kinetic energy after the collision is not equal to the total kinetic energy before the collision.
  • This is in contrast to an elastic collision in which conservation of total kinetic energy applies.
  • If two objects collide, there are many ways that kinetic energy can be transformed into other forms of energy.
  • The kinetic energy is used on the bonding energy of the two bodies.

• Internal Energy

  • The internal energy of a system is the sum of all kinetic and potential energy in a system.
  • Internal energy has two components: kinetic energy and potential energy.
  • The potential energy is associated with the static constituents of matter, static electric energy of atoms within molecules or crystals, and the energy from chemical bonds.
  • Nuclear fusion in the sun converts nuclear potential energy into available internal energy and keeps the temperature of the Sun very high.
  • Express the internal energy in terms of kinetic and potential energy

• Elastic Collisions in One Dimension

  • An elastic collision is a collision between two or more bodies in which kinetic energy is conserved.
  • An elastic collision is a collision between two or more bodies in which the total kinetic energy of the bodies before the collision is equal to the total kinetic energy of the bodies after the collision.
  • An elastic collision will not occur if kinetic energy is converted into other forms of energy.
  • It important to understand how elastic collisions work, because atoms often undergo essentially elastic collisions when they collide.
  • If we know that this is an elastic collision, there must be conservation of kinetic energy by definition.