Potential and Kinetic Energy
- Potential energy is “stored motion”: The belief that a ball on a shelf is
“wanting” to move, rather than having energy due to its position in a
gravitational field. - Objects at rest have no energy: Ignoring the chemical, nuclear, or
gravitational potential energy stored in stationary objects. - Kinetic energy depends on height: Confusing the result of falling (gaining
speed) with the cause (gravitational potential energy). - Energy is only “Work”: The idea that energy only exists if a human or machine
is performing a visible task. - Efficiency is about “Effort”: Thinking a machine is “efficient” because it works
hard, rather than it having a high ratio of useful energy output to total energy
input.
