mechanical energy

/məˌkænəkəl ˌɛnərdʒi/

Other forms: mechanical energies

In physics, mechanical energy is the energy an object has because of its motion or position. The baseball a pitcher throws has mechanical energy because of its speed and its height above the ground.

The mechanical energy of a moving car might seem obvious, but the encyclopedia you're holding above your head also possesses mechanical energy, thanks to gravity. These examples illustrate two types of mechanical energy, kinetic (things in motion) and potential (an object's position giving it stored energy). It either case, this kind of energy is all about objects moving (or potentially moving) through space, as well their ability to move other objects by applying force to them.

Definitions of mechanical energy

1. noun

   energy in a mechanical form
   types:

   K.E., kinetic energy

   the mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of its motion

   P.E., potential energy

   the mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of its position; stored energy

   elastic energy, elastic potential energy

   potential energy that is stored when a body is deformed (as in a coiled spring)

   type of:

   energy, free energy

   (physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs