Where is the potential energy stored?

Question

As we lift a mass from the earth, it gains potential energy,; does its mass then increase; is that where the added potential energy is 'stored"

Answer 1

Yes. As you lift the object, you are doing work on it. That work represents the potential energy stored in the object, and it's mass does indeed increase as given by AE's equation. In the same way, a compressed spring has greater mass than a relaxed spring, again via dM = PE/c^2.

Edit: Responding to my thumbsdowner, an object moved in a gravitational field has a new proper time associated with its location. So for instance, consider a box containing energetic particles moving back and forth with some frequency. If we move the box from a lower to a higher altitude, an observer inside the box would not notice the change in proper time and the frequency of motion would appear unchanged, but the faster local clock speed means the internal energy would actually be increased relative to the original location. The energy would come from the work done on the box to move it, and that energy would have an associated mass.

The reverse operation can translate into 10% or more of the mass of an object falling into a black hole being radiated away to the environment as mainly thermal radiation.

Comments? I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.

Answer 2

There is no change in the size or mass of the object, in the case when it is lifted to certain height from earth.

The potential energy is given by the formula P.E = mgh.

It is seen from the equation the energy of a mass m is dependent on the distance of the object from the ground [h] and the acceleration due to gravity [g]

Whatever is the height the mass remains the same. Hence the energy is not stored in the mass of the body.

For a very long distance from the earth, the acceleration due to gravity remains constant.

Hence the energy is not stored in the acceleration due to gravity.

The only change is the change in the distance h. When h is large the P.E is large and height is less P.E is less.

Thus the potential energy is in the height alone and not on the body.

If the concept field is studied, it can be seen that the energy resides in the gravitational field. Till then one can say that the energy resides on the height from the earth and not on the mass or size of the object.

Answer 3

The energy is stored in the gravitational field itself. Imagine a universe containing only two masses. The only meaningful position to which to assign zero energy is at infinite spacing between the two. As they approach, the force increases with the inverse square of the distance. But since the energy of the system is decreasing, you now have negative energy. If the masses could achieve a distance between them of zero, the energy would be minus infinity, a singularity.

This strange fact is key to some of the M-brane theories of how the universe might have originated out of 'nothing', the Ultimate Free Lunch. That term was coined by Alan Guth.

Answer 4

Your question is well framed. It should be looked at differently, the potential energy (ignoring the loss due to friction etc.) would equal the energy expended to lift the object to its final height. So the gain in potential energy is only due to the energy supplied to lift it (so the energy got converted from a source to this sink). This energy an be realized if we want to convert it to other forms of energy at the expense of the potential energy gained by the object.

Hope this clarifies.

Answer 5

Energy stored by an object by virtue of its position. For example, an object raised above the ground acquires potential energy equal to the work done against the force of gravity; the energy is released as kinetic energy when it falls back to the ground. Similarly, a stretched spring has stored potential energy that is released when the spring is returned to its unstretched state. Other forms of potential energy include electrical potential energy, chemical energy, and nuclear energy.

Answer 6

Mass does not change, weight changes according to the distance that you are from the source of gravity , although in the case that you are postulating we can regard the weight as being sensibly constant.
When you lift the weight you are simply working against gravity so that when you release the weight then gravity causes the energy to be reclaimed.

Answer 7

properly, the capacity of dissolving a spring isn't as common by way of fact the element only disappearing. it is going to destroy aside to 3 quantity because it dissolves. think of this: man or woman small factors of the spring are free of the factors on the two fringe of them (that have been protecting them in place), and that they're going to pass if each and all of the forces appearing on them are not balanced. regardless of if it ought to no longer quantity to lots stream, that skill capacity would be released as those products and debris pass around.