Posts Tagged ‘potential energy’
Tuesday, March 1st, 2016
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Objects in motion inevitably meet with opposing forces, a theme which I frequently encounter in my work as an engineering expert. Today we’ll calculate the opposing force our exemplar coffee mug meets when it falls into a pan of kitty litter, thus transforming its freefalling kinetic energy into the work required to move through clay litter.
Let’s revisit the Work-Energy Theorem formula, whose terms were explained in last week’s blog,
F × d = – ½ × m × v12 (1)
The left side of this equation represents the mug’s work to move through the litter, while the right side represents its kinetic energy, which it gained through freefall. To solve for F, the amount of force acting in opposition to the mug’s mass m as it plows a depth d into the litter, we’ll isolate it on one side of the equation, as shown here,
F = [- ½ × m × v12 ] ÷ d (2)
So how do we solve for F when we don’t know the value of v1, the mug’s freefall velocity at impact? We’ll use the fact that The Law of Conservation of Energy tells us that all energies are equal, and we’ll eliminate the part of Equation (2) that contains this unknown variable, that is, the right side of the equation which deals with kinetic energy. In its place we’ll substitute terms which represent the mug’s potential energy, that is, the latent energy held within it as it sat upon the shelf prior to falling. Equation (2) then becomes,
F = [- m × g × h] ÷ d (3)
where g is the Earth’s acceleration of gravity factor, a constant equal to 9.8 meters/sec2 , and h is the height from which the mug fell.
Kinetic Energy Meets With Opposing Force
So if we know the mug’s mass, the distance fallen, and the depth of the crater it made in the litter, we can determine the stopping force acting upon it at the time of impact. It’s time to plug numbers.
Let’s say our mug has a mass of 0.25 kg, it falls from a height of 2 meters, and it makes a crater 0.05 meters deep. Then the stopping force acting upon it is,
F = [- (0.25 kg) × (9.8 meters/sec2) × (2 meters)] ÷ (0.05 meters)
= – 98 Newtons
The mug was subjected to -98 Newtons, or about -22 pounds of opposing force when it fell into the litter, that resistance being presented by the litter itself.
Next time we’ll see what happens when our mug strikes a hard surface that fails to cushion its impact. Energy is released, but where does it go?
Copyright 2016 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: distance, engineering expert, falling objects, force, kinetic energy, law of conservation of energy, mass, Newtons, potential energy, velocity, work-energy theorem
Posted in Engineering and Science, Expert Witness, Forensic Engineering, Innovation and Intellectual Property, Personal Injury, Product Liability | Comments Off on When Kinetic Energy Meets With Opposing Force
Thursday, February 18th, 2016
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It’s not uncommon in my work as an engineering expert to encounter a situation in which I’m missing information. At that point I’ve got to find a creative solution to working the problem. We’ll get creative today when we combine the Law of Conservation of Energy and the Work-Energy Theorem to get around the fact that we’re missing a key quantity to calculate forces exerted upon the falling coffee mug we’ve been following in this blog series.
Last time we applied the Work-Energy Theorem to our mug as it came to rest in a pan of kitty litter. Today we’ll set up the Theorem formula to calculate the force acting upon it when it meets the litter. Here’s where we left off,
F × d = –½ × m × v12
where, F is the force acting to slow the progress of the mug with mass m inside the litter pan. The mug eventually stops and comes to rest in a crater with a depth, d. The left side of the equation represents the mug’s work expenditure, as it plows through the litter, which acts as a force acting in opposition to the mug’s travel.
Kinetic Energy Meets Up With Displacement
The right side of the equation represents the mug’s kinetic energy, which it gained in freefall, at its point of impact with the litter. The right side is in negative terms because the mug loses energy when it meets up with this opposing force.
Let’s say we know the values for variables d and m, quantities which are easily measured. But the kinetic energy side of the equation also features a variable of unknown value, v1, the mug’s velocity upon impact. This quantity is difficult to measure without sophisticated electronic equipment, something along the lines of a radar speed detector used by traffic cops. For the purpose of our discussion we’ll say that we don’t have a cop standing nearby to measure the mug’s falling speed.
If you’ll recall from past blog discussions, the Law of Conservation of Energy states that an object’s — in this case our mug’s — kinetic energy is equal to its potential energy. It’s this equivalency relationship which will enable us to solve the equation and work around the fact that we don’t have a value for v1.
We’ll do the math and plug in the numbers next time.
Copyright 2016 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: displacement, engineering expert, falling objects, impact force, kinetic energy, law of conservation of energy, mass, opposing force, potential energy, velocity, work-energy theorem
Posted in Engineering and Science, Expert Witness, Forensic Engineering, Innovation and Intellectual Property, Personal Injury, Product Liability | Comments Off on Combining the Law of Conservation of Energy and Work-Energy Theorem
Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
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As an engineering expert I’ve often witnessed energy change forms, something our example coffee mug has been experiencing as it moves from a shelf to the floor. The mug’s various energies were proven to be mathematically equivalent, expressed as, 4.9 kg•meter2 /second2 , which is read as, “kilogram meter squared per second squared.” This mouthful led to the renaming of the measurement to the Joule, in honor of James Prescott Joule, a scientist who successfully demonstrated the interrelationship between different forms of energy. We’ll focus on one of his experiments, the Joule Apparatus, today.
Back in the 1840s Joule built his Apparatus, a device which demonstrated the interrelationship between different forms of energy.
The Joule Apparatus
The Joule Apparatus consisted of a weight suspended by string over a pulley, which in turn was wound around a winding drum. As long as the drum remained stationary, the weight remained motionlessly suspended. While motionless, the weight’s potential energy lay latent within it, just as it had in our example coffee mug resting on a shelf.
But when the pressure keeping the winding drum stationary was released, the weight was set free to fall, and its potential energy began converting to kinetic. In the process, the string the weight was attached to unwound from the drum, which caused the drum to turn and along with it the paddle wheel it was attached to.
Joule’s Apparatus followed energy through many forms. From the quiet of potential energy to the kinetic energy demonstrated by the falling weight. The kinetic energy in turn was converted into mechanical energy, made manifest by the interaction between the moving drum and paddle wheel. The rotating paddles agitated the water, causing its temperature to rise. Observing this, Joule concluded that the mechanical energy of the spinning paddle wheel had been converted into heat energy, which temperature measurement proved was transferred into the water. Joule’s experiment thus proved the link between potential, kinetic, mechanical, and heat energies.
Joule’s work paved the way to make possible the later development of a host of modern mechanical devices that also converted heat energy into mechanical energy, or vice versa. These devices include a car’s engine and your kitchen’s refrigerator.
Next time we’ll see how Joule demonstrated a link between electrical and other forms of energy, including mechanical and heat. We’ll then use his discoveries to convert our falling coffee mug’s kinetic energy into yet another form.
Copyright 2015 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: electrical energy, energy engineer, energy of falling objects, engineering expert witness, forensic engineer, forms of energy, James Prescott Joule, Joule Apparatus, Joule energy unit, Joule's experiments, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, physics of falling objects, potential energy, work
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Monday, September 28th, 2015
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Last time we introduced Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis’ formula to compute kinetic energy. Today we’ll use it to determine the speed of descent, or velocity, of the coffee mug we’ve been watching closely in the last few blogs. To calculate the mug’s velocity, we must bear in mind physicist Julius Robert von Mayer’s assertion that all forms of energy are interrelated, and in fact interchangeable, because energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change forms. For a refresher, see The Law of Conservation of Energy.
Let’s now put a practical spin on this concept and apply it to our coffee mug’s free fall to the floor. Once again, de Coriolis’ formula,
KE = ½ × m × v2 (1)
where m is the mass of our falling object and v its velocity. The ½ is an unchanging, constant term that’s present due to the mathematical Rules of Integration governing integral calculus. Calculus and its derivations are beyond the scope of this blog, but if you’re interested in pursuing this, follow this link to, The Physics Hypertextbook – Kinetic Energy.
According to von Mayer’s Law, at the precise instant before the mug hits the floor its kinetic energy, KE, is equal to the potential energy, PE, it possessed when it rested passively on the shelf. Stated another way, the instant before the mug makes contact with the floor, all its potential energy will have been converted into kinetic.
The mug’s PE was calculated previously to be equal to 4.9 kg • meter2/second2. See Computing Potential Energy for a review. Knowing this, the mathematical relationship between the mug’s potential and kinetic energies is expressed as,
PE = KE = 4.9 kg • meter2/second2 (2)
By substituting this mathematical representation for KE into equation (1) we arrive at,
4.9 kg • meter2/second2 = ½ × m × v2 (3)
We also know the mug’s mass, m, to be equal to 2.6 kilograms, so integrating that into the right side of equation (3) it becomes,
4.9 kg • meter2/second2 = ½ × ( 0.25kg) × v2 (4)
That leaves the mug’s velocity, v2, as the only remaining unknown term. We’ll use algebra to isolate this variable by dividing both sides of equation (4) by ½ × ( 0.25kg).
(4.9 kg • meter2/second2) ÷ [½ × ( 0.25kg)] = v2
39.20 meter2/second2 = v2
Finally, we’ll take the square root of the equation to place it in terms of v.
6.26 meters/second = v
The mug’s velocity an instant before impact equates to 6.26 meters/second, or almost 21 feet per second.
Next time we’ll discuss a metric unit used to measure energy known as the Joule and discover the man behind it.
Copyright 2015 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: energy conversion, falling velocity, forensic engineering de Coriolis, integral calculus, joule, Julius Robert von Mayer, kinetic energy, law of conservation of energy, mechanical engineering expert witness, physics, potential energy, velocity, velocity of falling objects
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Friday, September 18th, 2015
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Last time we introduced kinetic energy as the energy of movement. Today we’ll see how to calculate it, using French mathematician Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis’ formula as set out in his textbook, Calculation of the Effect of Machines. We’ll then apply his formula to our example of a coffee mug falling from its shelf.
Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis’ book presented physics concepts, specifically the study of mechanics, in an accessible manner, without a lot of highbrow theory and complicated mathematics. His insights made complicated subjects easy to understand, and they were immediately put to use by engineers of his time, who were busily designing mechanical devices like steam engines during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution.
Within its pages the mathematics of kinetic energy was presented in the scientific form that persists to present day. That formula is,
KE = ½ × m × v2
where m is the moving object’s mass and v its velocity.
In the case of our coffee mug, its kinetic energy will be zero so long as it remains motionless on the shelf. A human arm had lifted it to its perch against the force of gravity, thereby investing it with gravitational potential energy. If the mug was sent freefalling to the ground by the mischievous kitty, its latent potential energy would be realized and converted into the kinetic energy of motion.
To illustrate, let’s say a mug with a mass equal to 0.25 kg rests on a shelf 2 meters above the floor. Its potential energy would then be equal to 4.9 kg • meter2/second2, as was computed in our previous blog, Computing Potential Energy.
Once kitty nudges the mug from its perch and it begins to fall, its latent gravitational potential energy begins a conversion process from potential to kinetic energy. It will continue to convert into an amount of kinetic energy that’s precisely equal to the mug’s potential energy while at rest on the shelf, that is, 4.9 kg • meter2/second2. Upon impact with the floor, all the mug’s gravitational potential energy will have been converted into kinetic energy.
Next time we’ll apply the Law of Conservation of Energy to the potential and kinetic energy formulas to calculate the mug’s velocity as it freefalls to the floor.
Copyright 2015 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: Calculation of the Effect of Machines, engineering expert witness, engines, falling objects, Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, kinetic energy, machinery, mass, mechanical energy, mechanical engineer, mechanics, physics, potential energy, velocity
Posted in Engineering and Science, Expert Witness, Forensic Engineering, Innovation and Intellectual Property, Personal Injury, Product Liability | Comments Off on Calculation of the Effect of Machines — How to Calculate Kinetic Energy
Friday, September 11th, 2015
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Last time we introduced The Law of Conservation of Energy, which holds that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. We then applied the concept to a mug resting on a shelf, brimming with latent gravitational potential energy. Today we’ll continue our discussion with a focus on kinetic energy and how Willem Gravesande’s experimentation contributed to our understanding of the subject.
The concept of kinetic energy was first posited by mathematicians Gottfried Leibniz and Johann Bernoulli in the early 18th Century when they theorized that the energy of a moving object is a factor of its mass and speed. Their theory was later proven by Willem Gravesande, a Dutch lawyer, philosopher, and scientist.
Gravesande conducted experiments in which he dropped identical brass balls into a soft clay block. See Figure 1.
Figure 1
Figure 1 shows the results obtained when balls of the same mass m are dropped from various heights, resulting in different velocities as they fall and different clay penetrations. The ball on the left falls at velocity v and penetrates to a depth d. The center ball falls at twice the left ball’s velocity, or 2v, and penetrates four times as deep, or 4d. The right ball falls at three times the left ball’s velocity, 3v, and it penetrates nine times deeper, 9d. The results indicate an exponential increase in clay penetration, dependent on the balls’ speed of travel.
In fact, all the kinetic energy that the balls exhibited during freefall was converted into mechanical energy from the instant they impacted the clay until their movement within it stopped. This change in forms of energy from kinetic to mechanical demonstrates what Julius Robert von Mayer had in mind when he derived his Law of Conservation of Energy. For a refresher on the subject, see last week’s blog, The Law of Conservation of Energy.
As a result of his experimentation, Gravesande was able to conclude that the kinetic energy of all falling objects is a factor of their mass multiplied by their velocity squared, or m × v2.
We’ll see next time how Gravesande’s work paved the way for later scientists to devise the actual formula used to calculate kinetic energy and then we’ll apply it all to our coffee mug falling from the shelf.
Copyright 2015 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: falling objects, forensic engineer, Gottfried Leibniz, impact, Johann Bernoulli, Julius Robert von Mayer, kinetic energy, mass, mechanical energy, mechanical engineering expert witness, penetration, potential energy, velocity, Willem Gravesande
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015
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Last time we calculated the potential energy hidden within a coffee mug resting on a shelf. The concept of a passive object possessing energy may not be something all readers can identify with, but the secret behind that mug’s latent energy lies within The Law of Conservation of Energy, the topic we’ll be discussing today.
Julius Robert von Mayer, a German physicist of the mid 19th Century, is the man behind the Law. He posited that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred from one object to another or converted from one form of energy to another. Forms of energy include potential, kinetic, heat, chemical, mechanical, and electrical, all of which have the ability to become another form of energy.
Let’s take our coffee mug for example. Where did its potential energy come from? Ultimately, from the radiant energy emitted by the sun. The sun’s radiant energy was absorbed by plants and then converted to chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis, enabling them to grow. When they were later eaten by humans and other animals, the plants’ chemical energy became incorporated into their bodies’ cells, including the arm muscles used to lift the mug to the shelf.
In the act of lifting the cup, the arm’s muscle cells converted their own chemical energy into mechanical energy. And because lifting a mug to a shelf is work, for some of us greater than others, some of the arm’s chemical energy became heat energy which was lost to the environment.
Because of the elevated perch provided to the mug by the arm, which was in direct defiance of Earth’s gravitational pull, the arm muscles’ mechanical energy was transferred to the mug and converted to latent potential energy, because without that shelf to support it, the mug would fall to the ground. The mug’s potential energy would realize its full potential if it should be sent crashing to the floor, at which time it would become another form of energy. The mischievous orange kitty seems to have just that in mind.
We’ll talk more about the mug’s potential energy being converted to other forms next time.
Copyright 2015 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: chemical energy, engineering expert witness, falling objects, gravity, kinetic energy, law of conservation of energy, mechanical energy, potential energy, radiant energy, work
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Monday, August 17th, 2015
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Last week we concluded our discussion on the force of gravity within our solar system. Today we’ll turn our attention to the subject of gravity on Earth and exploring the physics behind falling objects. We’ll start off by discussing potential energy as it relates to gravity, or the latent energy acquired by an object when it’s been elevated above ground level.
Potential energy was the term adopted by 19th Century Scottish scientist William Rankine to represent the latent, or masked, energy hidden within objects. As an example, let’s say you’ve placed your favorite coffee mug in its designated spot on the kitchen shelf. Sitting there so still you wouldn’t dream it was brimming with gravitational potential energy, but if your cat came along and brushed against it, sending it freefalling to the floor, your mug would quickly become a projectile, gaining speed at a uniform rate as it accelerated towards ground level.
Where did that once passive little cup acquire its mounting energy? Simply by virtue of the fact it had been lifted by your arm and placed in an elevated position. You see, Earth’s gravitational pull is forever exerting its invisible tug on objects. It was tugging at the mug as you lifted it, and the higher you lifted it, the more gravitational potential energy the mug received. Once perched on the shelf it bridled with latent energy, only to be set free when the cat caused it to lose its support.
To illustrate the relationship between the coffee mug, the shelf, and Earth’s gravitational pull, we’ll employ the equation used to compute potential energy, notated in terms of gravity,
PEgravitational = m × g × h
This equation states that the mug’s gravitational potential energy, PEgravitational, is a factor of its mass, m, Earth’s gravitational pull, g, and the mug’s height above ground level, h.
Within the scientific community g is referred to as Earth’s acceleration of gravity, a phenomenon commonly accepted to be the uniform accelerating rate at which an object falls on Earth, equal to 9.8 meters per second per second, or meters/second2. It represents a rate of constant acceleration, which happens to be precisely the same whether the object falling is a brick, feather, or coffee mug.
Next time we’ll work with the potential energy equation which will enable us to see how the curious orange kitty sets loose the latent power held within that mug.
Copyright 2015 – Philip J. O’Keefe, PE
Engineering Expert Witness Blog
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Tags: engineering expert witness, falling objects, forensic engineer, gravitational potential energy, gravity, latent energy, potential energy
Posted in Engineering and Science, Expert Witness, Forensic Engineering, Innovation and Intellectual Property, Personal Injury, Product Liability | Comments Off on Gravitational Potential Energy on Earth
