How to Calculate Potential Energy

Introduction to calculate potential energy:

Ever heard the term, "He has huge potential for development"? If you have heard of it then you probably know what it means. It means that whoever it is that is being referred to here, they have a huge capacity for development. The Potential part of Potential Energy has the same usage too.

The Potential Energy of a body refers to the Energy Capacity of a body, usually at rest. Depending upon the mass of the body we have a time tested formula for calculating the Potential Energy of a body. As a little byline, this term was coined by the physicist William Rankine.


Formula for Potential Energy


Suppose a body of mass M is at a height (or was lifted to that height) H and if the acceleration due to gravity in the area is G, then the potential energy P.E. of the body is given as

P.E. = M*G*H

Note: Unless specified differently in a numerical problem, G is always taken as 9.8m/s2

Units of Potential Energy:

The Unit of Potential Energy is same as that of Energy. In the S.I. unit system it is Joules and Newton-meter


Forms of potential energy:


There are many different forms of Potential Energy and each has its own formula for calculation, which we shall not discuss here. Some of these forms are:

Gravitational Potential Energy
Elastic Potential Energy
Electrodynamic Potential Energy
Electrostatic Potential Energy
Nuclear Potential Energy
All these forms have their individual uses, units and formulas.

Is this topic Rotational Kinetic Energy Formula hard for you? Watch out for my coming posts.

Potential Energy VS Kinetic Energy


Potential Energy is often confused with Kinetic Energy. There is a very elementary difference between these two expressions.

The Potential Energy refers to the energy possessed by a body at rest while Kinetic Energy refers to the energy possessed by a body in motion (i.e. the velocity of the body is taken into consideration).