WHat happens to a pendulum's kinetic energy when it stops moving???
at the top? It has transformed to gravitaional potential energy.
When a pendulum stops moving at the top of its swing, its kinetic energy is transformed into gravitational potential energy. This transformation occurs due to the change in height of the pendulum bob.
To understand this transformation, let's break down the energy conversion step by step:
1. Kinetic Energy: As the pendulum swings back and forth, it exhibits both kinetic energy and potential energy. At the bottom of its swing, when the velocity is maximum and the displacement is minimum, the pendulum has maximum kinetic energy. This energy is expressed as the product of half the mass of the pendulum bob (m) and the square of its velocity (v^2), which is given by the formula K = (1/2)mv^2.
2. Potential Energy: At the top of its swing, when the pendulum comes to a temporary stop, its velocity is zero. At this point, it possesses only potential energy. This potential energy is in the form of gravitational potential energy and is calculated based on the height (h) of the bob and the acceleration due to gravity (g). The formula for gravitational potential energy is PE = mgh.
So, when the pendulum stops moving at the top of its swing, all the kinetic energy it had is transformed into gravitational potential energy. The higher the pendulum bob reaches, the greater the potential energy it possesses.
In summary, the kinetic energy of a pendulum is transformed into gravitational potential energy when it stops moving at the top of its swing.