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A system of bodies may have internal kinetic energy due to the relative motion of the bodies in the system. For example, in the Solar System the planets and planetoids are orbiting the Sun. In a tank of gas, the molecules are moving in all directions. The kinetic energy of the system is the sum of the kinetic energies of the bodies it contains.
For example, in 1742, Émilie du Châtelet wrote, "Dead force consists of a simple tendency to motion: such is that of a spring ready to relax; living force is that which a body has when it is in actual motion." In modern terminology, "dead force" and "living force" correspond to potential energy and kinetic energy respectively. [136]
Every conservative force has a potential energy. By following two principles one can consistently assign a non-relative value to U: Wherever the force is zero, its potential energy is defined to be zero as well. Whenever the force does work, potential energy is lost.
There are two main descriptions of motion: dynamics and kinematics.Dynamics is general, since the momenta, forces and energy of the particles are taken into account. In this instance, sometimes the term dynamics refers to the differential equations that the system satisfies (e.g., Newton's second law or Euler–Lagrange equations), and sometimes to the solutions to those equations.
An example is the calculation of the rotational kinetic energy of the Earth. As the Earth has a sidereal rotation period of 23.93 hours, it has an angular velocity of 7.29 × 10 −5 rad·s −1. [2] The Earth has a moment of inertia, I = 8.04 × 10 37 kg·m 2. [3] Therefore, it has a rotational kinetic energy of 2.14 × 10 29 J.
The relation between the net force and the acceleration is given by the equation F = ma (Newton's second law), and the particle displacement s can be expressed by the equation = which follows from = + (see Equations of motion). The work of the net force is calculated as the product of its magnitude and the particle displacement.
The equations of motion for a mechanical system of rigid bodies can be determined using D'Alembert's form of the principle of virtual work. The principle of virtual work is used to study the static equilibrium of a system of rigid bodies, however by introducing acceleration terms in Newton's laws this approach is generalized to define dynamic ...
In a mechanical system like a swinging pendulum subjected to the conservative gravitational force where frictional forces like air drag and friction at the pivot are negligible, energy passes back and forth between kinetic and potential energy but never leaves the system. The pendulum reaches greatest kinetic energy and least potential energy ...