Potential energy

Potential energy is the stored or pent-up energy of an object. It is often contrasted with kinetic energy.^[1]

In physics, potential energy is the energy which an object has due to its position in a force field or which a system has due to the way its parts are arranged.^[2][3] Common types include the gravitational potential energy of an object that depends on its vertical position and mass, the elastic potential energy of an extended spring, and the electric potential energy of a charge (unit: C) in an electric field. The SI unit for energy is the joule (J).

Potential energy is often associated with restoring forces such as a spring or the force of gravity. The action of stretching the spring or lifting the mass is performed by an external force that works against the force field of the potential. This work is stored in the force field, which is said to be stored as potential energy. If the external force is removed the force field acts on the body to perform the work as it moves the body back to the initial position, reducing the stretch of the spring or causing a body to fall. When this happens, potential energy changes into kinetic energy. The total energy stays the same because of the law of conservation of energy.

Physicists say that potential energy is the difference between the energy of an object in a given position and its energy at a reference position.

1. ↑ Morrison, Faith A. 2013. An introduction to fluid mechanics Cambridge University Press, p. 442: "Energy may be stored in the state of a system—for example, as kinetic energy stored in the speed of the system, as potential energy stored in the position of the system in a potential field, or as internal energy stored in the chemical state of a system".
2. ↑ Jain, Mahesh C. (2009). "Fundamental forces and laws: a brief review". Textbook of engineering physics, Part 1. PHI Learning. p. 10. ISBN 9788120338623.
3. ↑ McCall, Robert P. 2010 (9 May 2010). "Energy, work and metabolism". Physics of the human body. JHU Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-8018-9455-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)