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c
c
c
c
= = + r r r
,
) , , ( ) , , (
dz
z
U
dy
y
U
dx
x
U
z y x U dz z dy y dx x U dU
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
+ + + =
, ) ( dz F dy F dx F d d W
z y x
+ + = = + r F r r r
, U
z
U
y
U
x
U
V =
c
c
c
c
c
c
= z y x F
z y x c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
= V z y x
U V
September 23, 2010
Scalar Fields
A scalar field is just one where a quantity
in space is represented by numbers,
such as this temperature map.
Here is another scalar field,
height of a mountain.
Contours
Side View
Contours close
together
steeper
Contours far
apart
flatter
September 23, 2010
Vector Fields
A vector field is one where a quantity in
space is represented by both magnitude
and direction, i.e by vectors.
The vector field bears a close relationship to
the contours (lines of constant potential
energy).
The steeper the gradient, the larger the
vectors. The gradient vectors point along the
direction of steepest ascent.
The force vectors (negative of the gradient)
point along the direction of steepest descent,
which is also perpendicular to the lines of
constant potential energy.
Imagine rain on the mountain. The vectors
are also streamlines. Water running down
the mountain will follow these streamlines.
Side View
September 23, 2010
Surface vs. Volume Vector Fields
In the example of the mountain, note
that these force vectors are only correct
when the object is ON the surface.
The actual force field anywhere other
than the surface is everywhere
downward (toward the center of the
Earth.
The surface creates a normal force
everywhere normal (perpendicular) to
the surface.
The vector sum of these two forces is
what we are showing on the contour
plot.
Side View
September 23, 2010
Statement of the problem:
The potential energy of a certain particle is U = Axy
2
+B sin Cz, where A, B and C are
constants. What is the corresponding force?
Solution:
Formally, the force is
What we need, then, are the three partial derivatives, which we can write down by
inspection:
Plugging back into the equation for force, we have:
Example 4.4: Finding F from U
.
z
U
y
U
x
U
U
c
c
c
c
c
c
= V = z y x F
. cos ; 2 ;
2
Cz BC
z
U
Axy
y
U
Ay
x
U
=
c
c
=
c
c
=
c
c
). cos 2 (
2
z y x F Cz BC Axy Ay + + =
September 23, 2010
Last time we saw that the two conditions for a force to be conservative are
It turns out that there is an easy way to check whether a force has the second
property, using a concept from vector calculus. It can be shown via a theorem
called Stokes Theorem (which you will have seen if you have had the vector
calculus course) that a force has the desired property, that the work it does is
independent of the path, if and only if everywhere. The quantity
is called the curl of F, or just curl F, or del cross F.
It follows the usual rules for the cross product.
4.4 The Second Condition that F be
Conservative
0 = V F
Conditions for a Force to be Conservative
A force F acting on a particle is conservative if and only if it satisfies
two conditions:
1. F depends only on the particles position r (and not on the velocity
v, or the time t, or any other variable); that is, F = F(r).
2. For any two points 1 and 2, the work W(1 2) done by F is the
same for all paths between 1 and 2.
F V
September 23, 2010
Two find the curl of a vector, you form the matrix and find its determinant:
It may not be obvious that this being zero is equivalent to the condition that
is path independent, but Stokes Theorem shows that it is. This gives a handy
way to determine the path-independence property, as the following example
shows.
Curl of F
}
2
1
r F d
z y x
z y x z y x
F
det
|
|
.
|
\
|
c
c
c
c
+
|
.
|
\
|
c
c
c
c
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
c
c
c
c
=
c
c
c
c
c
c
=
(
(
(
(
c
c
c
c
c
c
= V
y
F
x
F
x
F
z
F
z
F
y
F
F F F
z y x
F F F
z y x
x
y
z x
y
z
z y x z y x
September 23, 2010
Statement of the problem:
Consider the force F on a charge q due to a fixed charge Q at the origin. Show that it is
conservative and find the corresponding potential energy U. Check that
Solution:
The Coulomb force is where we have substituted for the constant
kqQ.
Lets find the curl of F, and see if it is zero. The x component is
But so
The other two components work exactly the same, so the Coulomb force is conservative.
Example 4.5: Is the Coulomb Force
Conservative?
,
3 2
r r F
r r
kqQ
= =
. F = V U
( )
|
|
.
|
\
|
c
c
c
c
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
c
c
c
c
= V
3 3
r
y
z r
z
y z
F
y
F
y
z
x
F
( ) ,
2 / 3
2 2 2 3
+ + = z y x r
( ) ( ) ( )
0
3 3
5 5
2 / 3
2 2 2
2 / 3
2 2 2
=
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ +
c
c
+ +
c
c
= V
r
y z
r
z y
z y x
z
y z y x
y
z
x
F
September 23, 2010
To find the potential energy, we write down the work integral
where we are free to choose the path of integration (since we know the answer is
path-independent). We should certainly choose a radial path, so that dr' is in the
direction r', so that . The integral then becomes trivial:
As usual, we have to choose a zero point for the potential energy. It is customary
to choose U = 0 at , in which case
Please see this example in the text to see how to do the last step, showing that
Example 4.5, contd
,
1
) (
o o
3 } }
' '
'
= ' =
r
r
r
r
d
r
d r U r r r F
r d r d ' ' = ' ' r r
. ) (
o
2
o
r r r
dr
r U
r
r
=
'
=
}
= r
. ) ( ) (
r
kqQ
r U U = = r
. F = V U
September 23, 2010
The text goes through a discussion of time-dependent potential energy using
a specific example. However, I think it is sufficient to give the results of that
discussion without going through the details.
Consider a Coulomb force problem where the charge q is being acted on by a
charge Q that is changing with time. In the example, the charge Q is leaking
away due to interaction with air molecules.
The gist of the argument is that if the potential energy is changing in this
way, then the total mechanical energy T + U is not conserved. While T does
not change, U slowly decreases to zero.
In this circumstance, U = U(x,y,z,t), so the differential of U is
Even when the first three terms can be expressed as the gradient of a scalar,
the last term is manifestly not zero.
Where does the energy go? It is lost into heating the air molecules.
4.5 Time-Dependent Potential
Energy
. ) , , , ( dt
t
U
dz
z
U
dy
y
U
dx
x
U
t z y x dU
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
September 23, 2010
The ability to express forces as the gradient of potential energy provides
many advantages for certain problems. It is perhaps easiest to see these
advantages by considering one-dimensional systems, and in fact one-
dimensional systems come up quite often, such as the problem of interaction
of two gravitational bodies, or two charges.
We will first consider linear systems, where the single dimension is, say, the
x-axis, as in a cart on a track. However, we will see next time that we can
also consider a roller-coaster as a one-dimensional system, even though the
track curves through two (or even three) linear dimensions.
In one dimension (we will use x), the potential energy is
For example, if the force obeys Hookes Law, F
x
(x) = kx, and if we choose x
o
= 0 as the reference point, then the potential energy is the familiar
Going the reverse direction, becomes
4.6 Linear One-Dimensional Systems
. ) ( ) (
o
}
' ' =
x
x
x
x d x F x U
. ) (
2
2
1
kx x U =
U V = F .
dx
dU
F
x
=
September 23, 2010
The fact that a conservative force is the gradient of the potential energy
allows us to use a helpful analogy to understand the relationships. All we
need do is graph the potential energy (U(x) in this case), and we get a
rollercoaster plot like the one below in which we can use our intuition to see
how an object will behave.
In this plot, as on a rollercoaster, the force on an object at any point is equal
to the downhill slope (gradient) of the potential energy. You can see that at
the point x
1
, the force is to the left (the slope is positive, so is
negative), while at the point x
2
it is to the right. At points x
3
and x
4
the slope
is zero, so the force is zero.
Graph of Potential Energy-1
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
U(x)
F
x
F
x
U V
September 23, 2010
This may seem too obvious in the case of a rollercoaster, but it is also true of
other conservative forces such as the spring force or the electric force. The
graph of potential energy allows us to visualize the way the forces work and
objects behave.
For instance, you can certainly see that if you place an object near the point
x
3
, it will be stable. On the other hand,
if you place an object at the point x
4
,
even though the force is zero there, a
small displacement will cause it to move
away from that point, hence the position
is unstable.
The condition for a position to be stable or unstable is found from the
curvature d
2
U/dx
2
at the point. If the curvature is upward (d
2
U/dx
2
> 0) and
dU/dx
= 0 (a minimum in U(x)), then the position is stable. If the curvature is
downward (d
2
U/dx
2
< 0) and dU/dx
= 0 (a maximum in U(x)), then it is
unstable.
Graph of Potential Energy-2
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
x
U(x)
F
x
F
x
September 23, 2010
Can the object reach here?
We can also subtly change the graph by plotting the total energy on the
vertical axis. Since the mechanical energy E = T + U is conserved, E is
represented by a horizontal line as shown on the plot, while U(x) is the curve.
Note that when the object is at position
a, we have E = T + U = U, so the KE, T,
of the object at that point must be zero.
Such a point is called a turning point,
since the object moves up to that point
and then reverses direction.
When the object moves to point b, still with total energy E = T + U, it follows
that, since U is a minimum there, T must be a maximum. The object is
moving at its greatest speed at this point.
When the object reaches point c, since the total energy is higher than the
U(x) curve, the object has non-zero KE and moves on past this point. It
actually speeds up past point c, and moves off the graph to the right.
Graph of Potential Energy-3
a
b
c
x
E
energy
How about here?
September 23, 2010
The graph below is the potential energy as a function of radius for a
negatively charged ion such as Cl
= =
.
) (
2
0
}
'
'
=
x
x U E
x d m
t
September 23, 2010
As a simple example:
I drop a stone from the top of a tower at time t = 0. Use conservation of energy to
find the stones position x (measured down from the top of the tower, where x = 0)
as a function of t. Neglect air resistance.
Solution:
The potential energy of the stone is
The total energy has to be constant, and we take U(x) = 0 at x = 0, where the stone
is dropped from rest, so it also has zero kinetic energy there. Hence, E = 0 always.
We can then solve for t:
From the answer, we can easily invert to get x vs. t:
Although this is a simple problem, you can use the same technique for any
potential energy function.
Example 4.6: Free Fall
. ) ( mgx x U =
.
2
2
2
0 0
} }
=
'
'
=
'
'
=
x x
g
x
x g
x d
x mg
x d m
t
.
2
2
1
gt x =