Kinetic energy

In physics, kinetic energyenergy possessed bybody by virtueits motion. In Newtonian mechanics,bodymass m, moving instraight linevelocity v, hastranslational kinetic energy of

.

Ifbodyrotating, its rotational kinetic energy equals

,

where Iits momentinertiaω its angular velocity.

In Einstein's relativistic mechanics,kinetic energy ofbody is

where mits total mass, m₀its mass (or rest mass),c isspeedlightvacuum. Relativity theory states thattotal massan object grows towards infinity as its velocity approachesspeedlight,thus that itimpossibleaccelerate an object beyond this boundary.

Where gravityweak,objects move at much slower velocities than light (e.g.everyday phenomena on Earth), Newton's formulaan excellent approximationrelativistic kinetic energy.

See also:

• momentum
• recoil