What makes kinetic energy

While not all of microscopic kinetic energy can be turned into useful work , a heat engine can get some of the thermal energy and turn it into useful work although this is limited by the second law of thermodynamics. This simulation explores how macroscopic kinetic energy becomes microscopic kinetic energy:. To learn more about kinetic energy please see hyperphysics.

Fossil Fuels. Nuclear Fuels. Acid Rain. Climate Change. Climate Feedback. Ocean Acidification. Rising Sea Level. Norton, In these two cases, the kinetic energy is converted to potential energy because while it is not actually doing work, it has the potential to do work. If we drop the object from the shelf or release the spring, that potential energy is converted back into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy can also be transferred from one body to another in a collision, which can be elastic or inelastic.

One example of an elastic collision would be one billiard ball striking another. Ignoring the friction between the balls and the table or any spin imparted to the cue ball, ideally the total kinetic energy of the two balls after the collision is equal to the kinetic energy of the cue ball before the collision.

An example of an inelastic collision might be a moving train car bumping into a similar stationary car and coupling to it. The total energy would remain the same, but the mass of the new system would be doubled. Additionally, kinetic energy can be converted into other forms of energy and vice versa. For example, kinetic energy can be converted into electrical energy by a generator or into thermal energy by the brakes on a car. Conversely, electrical energy can be converted back to kinetic energy by an electric motor, thermal energy can be converted to kinetic energy by a steam turbine, and chemical energy can be converted to kinetic energy by an internal combustion engine.

And for a fourfold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of sixteen. The kinetic energy is dependent upon the square of the speed. As it is often said, an equation is not merely a recipe for algebraic problem solving, but also a guide to thinking about the relationship between quantities.

Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity ; it does not have a direction. Unlike velocity , acceleration , force , and momentum , the kinetic energy of an object is completely described by magnitude alone. Like work and potential energy, the standard metric unit of measurement for kinetic energy is the Joule. Use your understanding of kinetic energy to answer the following questions. Then click the button to view the answers. Determine the kinetic energy of a kg roller coaster car that is moving with a speed of If the roller coaster car in the above problem were moving with twice the speed, then what would be its new kinetic energy?

Missy Diwater, the former platform diver for the Ringling Brother's Circus, had a kinetic energy of 12 J just prior to hitting the bucket of water.