Potential Energy

http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2008/04/large_Trampoline2.jpg


                                                                                                         http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2008/04/large_Trampoline2.jpg

Elastic Potential Energy is what is helping this person to get so much air, or height . The springs that the very stretchy fabric is connected to is going to take  the brunt of the force of this persons fall. If you were to stretch a piece of the same like fabric across two wooden horse and jump on it, well that would not turn out so good because it is the springs that acquire the potential energy . Without the springs you would just hit the ground and well that would probably hurt.


Now if you were falling through the glass on the wooden saw horses that would transfer all of your built up kinetic energy into potential energy. Bad way to transfer.

When a spring is compressed a certain distance from it's natural length, the force is F=1/2kx^2. The letter "k" represents the springs constant and "x" represents the distance that the spring was stretched. To find the eleastic potential enrgy the following equation would apply. 

PE=1/2kx^2

principle of conservation of energy

The idea that the total energy of the universe is conserved (it is neither created nor destroyed). The homogeneity of the universe with respect to time translations is a symmetry of nature. As a consequence of this symmetry, the universe's energy is conserved. For example, it is axiomatic for science that an experiment, prepared identically, will return the same result no matter when the experiment is performed.




The springs are being pulled out of equilibrium and that is what makes it so much fun to jump on the trampoline, because of the elastic potential energy you get propelled into the air because the springs bring the trampoline back to the equilibrium position. A lot more fun dealing with springs then splinters.

Potential energy combind with Kinetic energy = Energy
Remember Energy can neither be created or destroyed.





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