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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.
Kinetic energy T is the energy of the system's motion and is a function only of the velocities v k, not the positions r k, nor time t, so T = T(v 1, v 2, ...). V , the potential energy of the system, reflects the energy of interaction between the particles, i.e. how much energy any one particle has due to all the others, together with any ...
General. [edit] Energy is a scalar quantity and the mechanical energy of a system is the sum of the potential energy (which is measured by the position of the parts of the system) and the kinetic energy (which is also called the energy of motion): [ 1 ][ 2 ] The potential energy, U, depends on the position of an object subjected to gravity or ...
Energy can broadly be classified into kinetic, due to a body's motion, and potential, due to a body's position relative to others. Thermal energy , the energy carried by heat flow, is a type of kinetic energy not associated with the macroscopic motion of objects but instead with the movements of the atoms and molecules of which they are made.
In quantum mechanics, energy is defined in terms of the energy operator (Hamiltonian) as a time derivative of the wave function. The Schrödinger equation equates the energy operator to the full energy of a particle or a system. Its results can be considered as a definition of measurement of energy in quantum mechanics.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 1 August 2024. Law of physics and chemistry This article is about the law of conservation of energy in physics. For sustainable energy resources, see Energy conservation. Part of a series on Continuum mechanics J = − D d φ d x {\displaystyle J=-D{\frac {d\varphi }{dx}}} Fick's laws of diffusion Laws ...
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 ...
The momentum and energy equations also apply to the motions of objects that begin together and then move apart. For example, an explosion is the result of a chain reaction that transforms potential energy stored in chemical, mechanical, or nuclear form into kinetic energy, acoustic energy, and electromagnetic radiation.