Abstract
Understanding advanced physical phenomena such as vertically hanging elastic column, soap bubbles, crystals and cracks demands expressing and manipulating a system’s potential energy under equilibrium conditions. However, students at schools and universities are usually required to consider the forces acting on a system under equilibrium conditions, rather than taking into account its potential energy. As a result, they find it difficult to express the system’s potential energy and use it for calculations when they do need to do so. The principle of least potential energy is a powerful idea for solving static equilibrium physics problems in various fields such as hydrostatics, mechanics, and electrostatics. In the current essay, the authors describe this principle and provide examples where students can apply it. For each problem, the authors provide both the force consideration solution approach and the energy consideration solution approach.
Highlights
Analyzing physics problems often requires one to understand how to apply conditions for static equilibrium in those problems
In school physics courses as well as in introductory physics courses students mainly learn that there are two conditions one has to impose in such problems: (a) zero resultant force; and (b) zero resultant torque about any axis
We first introduce the principle of least potential energy and second, offer three examples taken from the fields of hydrostatics, electricity, and mechanics to demonstrate how to apply the least of potential energy principle
Summary
Analyzing physics problems often requires one to understand how to apply conditions for static equilibrium in those problems. (a) zero resultant force; and (b) zero resultant torque about any axis Imposing these two conditions is the usual problem solving strategy in these courses. Students’ school experiences with the concept of energy leads many to view energy as traveling through machines and wires and changing appearances at different points—what Duit (1987) calls a quasi-material conception [2]. We believe that this view is caused because students are used to applying the concept of energy in Symmetry 2017, 9, 45; doi:10.3390/sym9030045 www.mdpi.com/journal/symmetry. We first introduce the principle of least potential energy and second, offer three examples taken from the fields of hydrostatics, electricity, and mechanics to demonstrate how to apply the least of potential energy principle
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
