Consider a situation where the acceleration of an object is always directed perpendicular to its velocity. This means that
1 answer:
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Answer:
Because of the formula
Explanation:
In this problem we are describing two different processes:
- Nuclear fission occurs when a heavy, unstable nucleus breaks apart into two or more lighter nuclei
- Nuclear fusion occurs when two (or more) light nuclei fuse together producing a heavier nucleus
In both cases, the total mass of the final products is smaller than the total mass of the initial nuclei.
According to Einsten's formula, this mass difference has been converted into energy, as follows:
where:
E is the energy released in the reaction
is the mass defect, the difference between the final total mass and the initial total mass
is the speed of light
From the formula, we see that the factor is a very large number, therefore even if the mass defect
is very small, nuclear fusion and nuclear fission release huge amounts of energy.
To explain, I will use the equations for kinetic and potential energy:
Potential energy is the potential an object has to move due to gravity. An object can only have potential energy if 1) <u>gravity is present</u> and 2) <u>it is above the ground at height h</u>. If gravity = 0 or height = 0, there is no potential energy. Example:
An object of 5 kg is sitting on a table 5 meters above the ground on earth (g = 9.8 m/s^2). What is the object's gravitational potential energy? <u>(answer: 5*5*9.8 = 245 J</u>)
(gravitational potential energy is potential energy)
<h3>Kinetic energy</h3>Kinetic energy is the energy of an object has while in motion. An object can only have kinetic energy if the object has a non-zero velocity (it is moving and not stationary). An example:
An object of 5 kg is moving at 5 m/s. What is the object's kinetic energy? (<u>answer: 5*5 = 25 J</u>)
<h3>Kinetic and Potential Energy</h3>Sometimes, an object can have both kinetic and potential energy. If an object is moving (kinetic energy) and is above the ground (potential), it will have both. To find the total (mechanical) energy, you can add the kinetic and potential energies together. An example:
An object of 5 kg is moving on a 5 meter table at 10 m/s. What is the objects mechanical (total) energy? (<u>answer: KE = .5(5)(10^2) = 250 J; PE = (5)(9.8)(5) = 245 J; total: 245 + 250 = 495 J</u>)