E-Book Content
Conservation Laws Benjamin Crowell
Book 2 in the Light and Matter series of introductory physics textbooks www.lightandmatter.com
Conservation Laws
The Light and Matter series of introductory physics textbooks: 1
Newtonian Physics
2
Conservation Laws
3
Vibrations and Waves
4
Electricity and Magnetism
5
Optics
6
The Modern Revolution in Physics
Conservation Laws Benjamin Crowell
www.lightandmatter.com
Light and Matter www.lightandmatter.com © 1998 by Benjamin Crowell All rights reserved. Edition 2.0 — 2000 rev. 2000-08-13
To Uri Haber-Schaim, John Dodge, Robert Gardner, and Edward Shore.
Brief Contents 1 Conservation of Energy 13 2 Simplifying the Energy Zoo 27 3 Work: The Transfer of Mechanical Energy 39 4 Conservation of Momentum 61 5 Conservation of Angular Momentum 85 Solutions to Selected Problems 109 Glossary 111 Index 113
9
Contents 1 Conservation of Energy
13
1.1 The Search for a Perpetual Motion Machine .................................................. 13 1.2 Energy ................................................. 14 1.3 A Numerical Scale of Energy ............... 16 1.4 Kinetic Energy ..................................... 20 1.5 Power .................................................. 23 Summary ...................................................... 25
3
2 Simplifying the Energy Zoo
27
2.1 Heat is Kinetic Energy ......................... 2.2 Potential Energy: Energy of Distance or Closeness ................ 2.3 All Energy is Potential or Kinetic .......... Summary ...................................................... Homework Problems ....................................
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28 30 34 36 37
Work: The Transfer of Mechanical