goodboy
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put a iron beside a magnet,then we konw the iron would be attracted toward the magnet.but where does the kinetic energy of the iron come from?
Where does the kinetic energy come from when iron is attracted to a magnet?
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Tomsk
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The iron is in a magnetic field, hence it has potential energy due to its position. This becomes KE when the iron is released. The total energy, KE+PE, is conserved.
Tomsk
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Actually, I just read this thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=130549. Looks like I'm wrong then...
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You are now wrong. You were right the first time. For a permanent magnet and ferromagnetic iron, the energy considerations do work just as they would in electrostatics with a charge attractilng a polarizable object.Tomsk said:Actually, I just read this thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=130549. Looks like I'm wrong then...