ehild said:The sign does count. Is the potential energy of the Earth-object system negative or positive if you take the zero of potential energy at infinite separation?
ehild
ehild said:I meant infinite distance between the centre of Earth and the object where the potential energy of the whole system is zero. The force between them is GmM(earth)/r2, towards each other. That corresponds to the potential energy of interaction U=-GmM/r. Does the potential energy increase or decrease if the object gets farther from the Earth centre?
ehild
ehild said:Oh not! The magnitude of a negative value decreases, what does it mean?
ehild
whitehorsey said:Ah it becomes positive! So a?
PE = (-mg)*(+h) = -mg. So PE decreases too which leads to a?ehild said:more positive.
Near the Earth surface, the force on the object is mg (downward). Does the potential energy increase or decrease if the object raises by h? ehild
whitehorsey said:PE = (-mg)*(+h) = -mg. So PE decreases too which leads to a?
whitehorsey said:PE = (-mg)*(+h) = -mg. So PE decreases too which leads to a?
Potential energy is the energy that an object has due to its position or configuration. It is stored energy that can be converted into other forms of energy.
The two main types of potential energy are gravitational potential energy and elastic potential energy. Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has due to its position in a gravitational field, while elastic potential energy is the energy stored in an object when it is stretched or compressed.
Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to its motion, while potential energy is the energy an object has due to its position or configuration. Kinetic energy can be converted into potential energy and vice versa.
The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed from one form to another. This means that the total amount of energy in a closed system remains constant.
The amount of potential energy an object has can be calculated by multiplying its mass, the acceleration due to gravity, and its height above the ground. The formula is PE = mgh, where m is mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height above the ground.