The key difference between kinetic energy and potential energy is that kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses because of its state of motion, whereas potential energy is the energy an object possesses because of its position of rest.
Energy exists in the universe in many forms, such as solar energy, thermal energy, electrical energy, magnetic energy, gravitational energy, and chemical energy. All energy is basically categorized into two classes known as kinetic energy and potential energy.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Kinetic Energy
3. What is Potential Energy
4. Kinetic Energy vs Potential Energy in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Kinetic Energy vs Potential Energy
What is Kinetic Energy?
The kinetic energy of an object can be defined as the energy that arises due to the motion of that object. It is the work we need to accelerate an object having a certain mass from its rest state to a particular velocity state. During the acceleration of the object, it gets kinetic energy and maintains it (at the same level) until the speed changes. In contrast, the object does the same amount of work during decelerating its speed from that particular velocity to the rest state.
We can give the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object having a mass of “m” that is moving at a speed of “v” through a mathematical expression as follows:
E = (1/2)mv2
Figure 01: Kinetic Energy vs Potential Energy
However, the above equation is important when speed “v” is a very small value compared to the speed of light. The unit of measurement for kinetic energy is joule, but the English unit for the measurement of kinetic energy is “foot-pound”.
What is Potential Energy?
Potential energy is the energy an object possesses because of its virtue of rest. We can also name it restoring energy. All objects have a tendency to return to their position of rest as potential energy works against any displacement force. This is because of the gravitational force of the earth. For example, had there been no gravitational force, a ball thrown up in the air would never come back to earth and continue its upward journey. We can abbreviate potential energy as PE.
The most common types of potential energy include gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy of an extended spring, electric potential energy of an electric charge in an electric field, etc. The unit of measurement for potential energy is joule (J).
Figure 02: Elastic Potential Force in Springs
Chemical potential energy is related to the structural arrangement of atoms and molecules. This arrangement forms as a result of chemical bonds that occurs within the molecules. This chemical potential energy can transform into different energy forms during chemical reactions.
What is the Difference Between Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy?
We can categorize all forms of energies basically into two classes as kinetic energy and potential energy. In other words, Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy are the two states of energy. The key difference between kinetic energy and potential energy is that kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses because of its state of motion, whereas potential energy is the energy an object possesses because of its position of rest.
The following infographic presents the difference between kinetic energy and potential energy in tabular form.
Summary – Kinetic Energy vs Potential Energy
All energy is basically categorized into two classes known as kinetic energy and potential energy. The key difference between kinetic energy and potential energy is that kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses because of its state of motion, whereas potential energy is the energy an object possesses because of its position of rest.
Reference:
1. “What Is Potential Energy? – Definition, FORMULA, EXAMPLES, Types and FAQs.” BYJUS, BYJU’S, 4 May 2021.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Potential Kinetic energy” By Benjamin J. Burger – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Springs 009” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia