Potential Energy of a Multiparticle System

Claimed By yzhang637 - 2016 Fall

This wikipage discusses the definition and significance of the potential energy in a multiparticle system, and exemplifies it in different contexts.

The Main Idea

Imagine you drop a ball with a mass of [math]\displaystyle{ M }[/math] near the surface of the earth at the height of [math]\displaystyle{ h }[/math]. If the ball alone is considered to be the system, i.e., the Earth is the surrounding, it is straightforward to find that the kinetic energy of the system (ball) increases, due to the positive work done on the ball by the Earth. In other words, as the gravitational force acts in the same direction as the displacement of the ball, the work done by the surroundings (the Earth) is equal to [math]\displaystyle{ Mgh }[/math]. What if you choose the system to contain both the ball and the Earth? In this case, nothing is significant in the surroundings to exert any work on the system. As a result, [math]\displaystyle{ \Delta K_{sys} = W_{surr} }[/math]

State, in your own words, the main idea for this topic Electric Field of Capacitor

A Mathematical Model

What are the mathematical equations that allow us to model this topic. For example [math]\displaystyle{ {\frac{d\vec{p}}{dt}}_{system} = \vec{F}_{net} }[/math] where p is the momentum of the system and F is the net force from the surroundings.

A Computational Model

How do we visualize or predict using this topic. Consider embedding some vpython code here Teach hands-on with GlowScript

Examples

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Connectedness

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History

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See also

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