Скачать или смотреть Is ENERGY Relative?! Kinetic Energy in Different Reference Frames in 60 seconds

In this #shorts video, I answer a wonderful question that I received about whether or not kinetic energy is relative.

If we imagine ourselves standing on a platform with a train moving past, then we can measure the speed of that train, and therefore calculate its kinetic energy. This will be some positive value.

But if we are moving with the train, then the train's speed relative to us (the observer) is zero. Therefore, its kinetic energy (0.5 x the mass of the train x the speed of the train) is also zero.

So is energy relative? Does it have different values depending on our choice of reference frame?

The short answer is yes! Kinetic energy will have different values in every different inertial reference frame. And this applies not only to the world of special and general relativity, but also to Galilean relativity (which is based on the same physics as Newtonian relativity). We don't need strange time dilation or length contraction effects in order for kinetic energy to be relative.

The important thing though, is that the total energy of any system in a given inertial reference frame is always constant. In other words, the conservation of energy always holds in a given reference frame, as long as we carefully account for all energy forms and energy transfers.

Thanks so much for watching, let me know what else you'd like me to cover in my next YouTube short!

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