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Physics
Energy on a skate track
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Time— s
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The dot on the board is the model’s physical point.
Track shape
Release positionReference & contact
Reading the live skater
- Total energy
- 0 J
- Kinetic K
- 0 J
- Potential U
- 0 J
- Thermal
- 0 J
0 J108 J
- Speed
- 0 m/s
- Height
- 0 m
Contact: Off track / ground
Compare with a pin
Pin a reading at the top, then compare it lower down.
What to notice
With fixed conditions and no friction, kinetic and potential energy exchange while the total stays constant.
More explanation
Without friction, energy shifts between K and U. With friction, some becomes thermal energy but remains in the total. Landing impacts can also create thermal energy. Changing h₀ changes U and the total; it does not directly change speed.
The dot at the board is the model’s physical point. The body and wheels are illustrations; rotation and temperature are not simulated.
Model notes
- The model calculates motion along curved tracks, gravity, contact and friction. Explore directly, inspect recorded path samples or view energy graphs; track joining is not included.
- The skater is a point mass. Body, board and wheels add no rotational inertia, air drag or temperature. The dot at the board marks the physical point; track material sits below the contact curve. Thermal energy is measured in J.
- Dragging, editing the track, changing mass/gravity/reference or clearing thermal energy are external interventions. Conservation is not asserted across them. Potential energy can be negative below h₀.
- Fixed model bounds are x −9 to 9 m and y 0 to 9 m. The skater starts paused at the left endpoint. Path and graph points are recorded samples that can fade or clear as conditions change. Selecting a sample does not rewind motion.
- Restoration is always paused. Calculations use 1/60-second steps; a session is limited to one million steps and 2,048 actions.