A customized form of the law of conservation of energy is derived and its features described in detail. The relationship between conservative forces and their associated potential energies is revealed and explained. Finally, power is defined and its practical applications are discussed.

Lecture 012: Conservation of Energy

Calculus based physics for undergraduate and high school physics students.

Natural Sciences

Science & Medicine

Social Sciences

Medicine

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

The notion of lines of equipotential is introduced and explored.

Lecture 043: Equipotentials

The electric potential between two parallel conducting plates of known surface charge density is discussed in detail.  This example is of particular interest because it is used to illuminate the relationship between force, field, voltage and energy.

Lecture 042: Parallel Conducting Plates

The Electrostatic Potential energy is derived from the work-energy theorem which leads, in turn to our definition of electric potential, the energy per unit charge.

Lecture 040: Electric Potential

The principles of harmonic motion are reviewed and then applied to three examples: the simple pendulum, the physical pendulum and a can bobbing in water.

Lecture 030: Harmonic Oscillation Part II

The problem of a mass connected to a spring is analyzed using Newton's 2nd law to reveal the harmonic oscillator differential equation which is then solved for the position, velocity and acceleration of the oscillator as a function of time.  Arguments are made that such solutions are approximately true for any system for which there exists a potential energy minimum, provided the oscillation is small.  Also, it is demonstrated that identical solutions are obtained for a mass hanging from a vertical spring by applying a thoughtful change in coordinate.

Lecture 012: Conservation of Energy

Download our free app to listen on your phone