What Happens to Energy When You Throw a Rock?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Biologik
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
When a rock is thrown, kinetic energy is transferred from the thrower's hand to the rock, causing it to accelerate. This energy transfer occurs at the atomic level, where the energy from the hand's motion is imparted to the rock. The rock retains this kinetic energy as long as it maintains its speed. The process involves converting biological energy from the body into kinetic energy for the rock's motion. Understanding this energy transfer is essential for grasping the principles of physics related to motion.
Biologik
Messages
38
Reaction score
0
You throw a rock. What is happening to that rock, and how is the energy transferred?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
What do you think, just to get the discussion started?
 
jtbell said:
What do you think, just to get the discussion started?
Well I think the kinetic energy from your hand is transferred from the atoms in your hand to the atoms in the rock and thereby accelerating it.
 
Not a stupid question.

When you throw a rock, the kinetic energy from your hand is transferred from your hand to the rock thereby accelerating the rock correct? This is what I think, correct me if I am wrong.
 
Two threads started by the OP on the same topic have been merged.

Zz.
 
Transfer of Kinetic energy.

1.I am in 8th grade
2. I am 13 years old
3. Don't answer like I'm a physicist
4.Don't answer like I'm a retard
5.Do answer like I'm in High school.

Here is the question:

Kinetic energy is transferred from one object to another by transferring the energy through the atoms of the object sending the kinetic energy right? Once the energy is transferred from the sending object, the energy that the sending object had, now the receiving object has correct? So if it was pushing forward, now the object moves forward.


If this is grounds for a warning I really don't know what else to do.
 
ZapperZ said:
Two threads started by the OP on the same topic have been merged.

Zz.

No one is going to reply. That's why I made a new one.
 
When you throw a rock, the kinetic energy from your hand is transferred from your hand to the rock thereby accelerating the rock correct?

Sounds good!


Here is how wikipedia describes it, and does a good job:

The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.[1] It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its current velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes. Negative work of the same magnitude would be required to return the body to a state of rest from that velocity.

See EXAMPLES for some specific applications. In your example, the hand get's it's energy from muscles burning up calories to move the arm, hand, ball and also the brain to coordinate the activity...and so "biological" energy is converted to kinetic energy.
 
Back
Top