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  2. Minimum total potential energy principle - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_total_potential...

    The minimum total potential energy principle is a fundamental concept used in physics and engineering.It dictates that at low temperatures a structure or body shall deform or displace to a position that (locally) minimizes the total potential energy, with the lost potential energy being converted into kinetic energy (specifically heat).

  3. Zero-point energy - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-point_energy

    The uncertainty principle requires every quantum mechanical system to have a fluctuating zero-point energy greater than the minimum of its classical potential well. This results in motion even at absolute zero. For example, liquid helium does not freeze under atmospheric pressure regardless of temperature due to its zero-point energy.

  4. Thermodynamic potential - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_potential

    In particular: (see principle of minimum energy for a derivation) [8] When the entropy S and "external parameters" (e.g. volume) of a closed system are held constant, the internal energy U decreases and reaches a minimum value at equilibrium. This follows from the first and second laws of thermodynamics and is called the principle of minimum ...

  5. Laws of thermodynamics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_thermodynamics

    If a system has a definite temperature, then its total energy has three distinguishable components, termed kinetic energy (energy due to the motion of the system as a whole), potential energy (energy resulting from an externally imposed force field), and internal energy. The establishment of the concept of internal energy distinguishes the ...

  6. Principle of minimum energy - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_minimum_energy

    The principle of minimum energy is essentially a restatement of the second law of thermodynamics. It states that for a closed system, with constant external parameters and entropy, the internal energy will decrease and approach a minimum value at equilibrium. External parameters generally means the volume, but may include other parameters which ...

  7. Energy minimization - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_minimization

    In the field of computational chemistry, energy minimization (also called energy optimization, geometry minimization, or geometry optimization) is the process of finding an arrangement in space of a collection of atoms where, according to some computational model of chemical bonding, the net inter-atomic force on each atom is acceptably close to zero and the position on the potential energy ...

  8. Scientific law - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_law

    Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. [1] The term law has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) across all fields of natural science ( physics , chemistry , astronomy , geoscience , biology ).

  9. Maupertuis's principle - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maupertuis's_principle

    Therefore, the abbreviated action can be written = = since the kinetic energy = equals the (constant) total energy minus the potential energy (). In particular, if the potential energy is a constant, then Jacobi's principle reduces to minimizing the path length s = ∫ d s {\textstyle s=\int ds} in the space of the generalized coordinates ...