- #1
Niels Bore
- 4
- 1
I made it to grad school in physics, and then my mind sort of melted and I chose another career. Lately I have been brushing up on math and physics for no clear reason. I decided to join this board so I would have a place to bring my strange questions.
Today I was reading up on Lagrangian mechanics, and I saw the term "kinetic potential" used to describe the difference between the kinetic and potential energies of a system. This is often expressed as L = T - V, where T is kinetic energy and V is potential energy.
Here is what's bugging me: why do they call it "kinetic potential"? Unless I've slipped more than I realize, all the potential for additional kinetic energy is found in the potential energy.
Today I was reading up on Lagrangian mechanics, and I saw the term "kinetic potential" used to describe the difference between the kinetic and potential energies of a system. This is often expressed as L = T - V, where T is kinetic energy and V is potential energy.
Here is what's bugging me: why do they call it "kinetic potential"? Unless I've slipped more than I realize, all the potential for additional kinetic energy is found in the potential energy.