Kinetic Energy

Summary

• Kinetic energy…
  • is the energy associated with motion
• Types and subtypes of kinetic energy
  • Mechanical energy is associated with macroscopic objects.
    • Kinetic and mechanical energy are often synonymous.
  • Heat is associated with the statistically random motion of microscopic particles (molecules, atoms, ions, etc.)
    • Heat is dealt with in several sections in this book.
  • Electric energy is associated with the bulk flow of charged particles.
    • Electric energy is discussed in the chapter on electric power in this book.
  • The energy transferred by electromagnetic radiation is associated with…
    • a propagating disturbance of electric and magnetic fields (classical physics)
    • the motion of photons (modern physics)
• General equation

  K = ½mv²