What is Potential: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple release of energy by objects to the realization of abilities in people. The philosopher Aristotle incorporated this concept into his theory of potentiality and actuality, a pair of closely connected principles which he used to analyze motion, causality, ethics, and physiology in his aPhysics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics and De Anima, which is about the human psyche. That which is potential can theoretically be made actual by taking the right action; for example, a boulder on the edge of a cliff has potential to fall that could be actualized by pushing it over the edge. Several languages have a potential mood, a grammatical construction that indicates that something is potential. These include Finnish, Japanese, and Sanskrit.In physics, a potential may refer to the scalar potential or to the vector potential. In either case, it is a field defined in space, from which many important physical properties may be derived. Leading examples are the gravitational potential and the electric potential, from which the motion of gravitating or electrically charged bodies may be obtained. Specific forces have associated potentials, including the Coulomb potential, the van der Waals potential, the Lennard-Jones potential and the Yukawa potential. In electrochemistry there are Galvani potential, Volta potential, electrode potential, and standard electrode potential. In the
thermodynamics, the term potential often refers to thermodynamic potential.

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  1. steroidjunkie

    Semiconductor chemical potential and the density of holes

    Homework Statement [a) Show that chemical potential in intrinsic semiconductor at T = 0 lies exactly in the middle of the energy gap. At what temperature is the chemical potential equal ##(3/4)(E_c + E_v)##, where ##E_c## and ##E_v## are energies od the bottom of the conduction band and of the...
  2. G

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  3. wrobel

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    Do exist examples of attraction forces with such a type potential ##V(\boldsymbol r)\sim-\frac{1}{|\boldsymbol r|^2}, \quad |\boldsymbol r|\to 0## in physics ?
  4. navneet9431

    Does the Potential Energy increase during Chemical Bonding?

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  5. V

    Programs Potential for an Astro vs Condensed Matter PhD (UK)

    I have read that postdocs are extremely hard to come by in Astrophysics, and is likely a dead end at the end of the PHD and that Condensed Matter is less competitive in academia. Would a Condensed Matter PhD also provide more opportunities in UK science industry - in particular the life sciences...
  6. T

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  7. E

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  8. R

    Electric Potential on the axis of a truncated cone

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  9. T

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  10. A

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  11. A

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  12. A

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  13. D

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  14. Clara Chung

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  15. K

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  16. rpthomps

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  17. physics girl phd

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  18. S

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  19. S

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  20. L

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  21. cianfa72

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  22. JTC

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  23. B

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  24. K

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  25. D

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  28. P

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  31. L

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  32. shk

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  33. P

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  34. Arman777

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  35. D

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  36. sal1234

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  37. SebastianRM

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  38. G

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  39. YMMMA

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  40. E

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  41. K

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  42. C

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  43. B

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  44. Safinaz

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  45. J

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  46. YMMMA

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  47. B

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  48. T

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  49. HotFurnace

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  50. J

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