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adjacent
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As we all know,Potential energy =mgh.If someone digs a hole and place a ball at 0 height,the potential energy should be zero but it falls somehow.How is this possible?
adjacent said:As we all know,Potential energy =mgh.If someone digs a hole and place a ball at 0 height,the potential energy should be zero but it falls somehow.How is this possible?
The point at which potential energy is zero is completely arbitrary and hence has no special meaning. All that matters how potential energy changes. Adding an arbitrary constant to some potential function has no impact on those changes in potential. You could make the potential at infinity be the zero point, and then anything at a finite distance will have a negative potential. In fact, making the zero be at an infinite distance is a very widely used choice for gravitational potential energy.adjacent said:I think the zero point should be the center of the earth.If I keep a ball on the ground,we can say it has no potential energy because of zero height.If I suddenly dig a hole,the ball suddenly gains potential energy?This is confusing
adjacent said:I think the zero point should be the center of the earth.
Sure it is. You haven't taken Newton's shell theorem into account.Nugatory said:And that ##1/r## term means that you cannot use the center of the Earth as the zero point - the potential isn't even defined there.
D H said:Sure it is. You haven't taken Newton's shell theorem into account.
Potential energy at 0 height refers to the energy that an object possesses when it is at the ground level or at a height of 0. It is the minimum amount of potential energy that an object can have.
The potential energy at 0 height is calculated using the formula PE = mgh, where m is the mass of the object, g is the gravitational acceleration, and h is the height of the object from the ground.
Yes, potential energy at 0 height is a type of gravitational potential energy. It is the energy that an object possesses due to its position relative to the Earth's surface.
When the object is lifted, its potential energy at 0 height increases because it is now at a higher position, and when the object is dropped, its potential energy at 0 height decreases as it gets closer to the ground.
Potential energy at 0 height is important in everyday life as it is the energy that allows objects to do work. It is also essential in understanding concepts such as gravity, motion, and potential energy stored in various objects.