Asked by Anonymous
Does potential energy equal to kinetic energy within the limits of experimental error?
Answers
Damon
NO!!
Usually in a given problem the SUM of kinetic and potential energy is more or less constant. I say more or less because energy is easily lost from your nice neat problem through friction or escape of heat or whatever messy thing happens to make your car not coast forever when you put it in neutral and let it roll.
Now when you start at the top of a hill, you have potential energy = m g h above at the bottom. If you roll down, THEN to keep the total constant, the kinetic at the bottom has to equal the potential at the top (neglecting that nasty friction).
Usually in a given problem the SUM of kinetic and potential energy is more or less constant. I say more or less because energy is easily lost from your nice neat problem through friction or escape of heat or whatever messy thing happens to make your car not coast forever when you put it in neutral and let it roll.
Now when you start at the top of a hill, you have potential energy = m g h above at the bottom. If you roll down, THEN to keep the total constant, the kinetic at the bottom has to equal the potential at the top (neglecting that nasty friction).