Kinetic energy ($K=\frac{1}{2}m{v}^2$)

Kinetic energy is the energy associated with motion. For a nonrelativistic point mass of mass $m>0$, measured in a specified inertial frame,Here $\mathbf{v}$ is velocity and $v$ is speed; $T$ is another common symbol for kinetic energy. The dot product makes $K$ nonnegative regardless of the direction of velocity. At fixed mass, doubling speed quadruples kinetic energy: a $2\mathrm{kg}$ point mass at $2m/s$ has $4\mathrm{J}$, whereas at $4m/s$ it has $16\mathrm{J}$. The SI units are $\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{m}}^2/{\mathrm{s}}^2=\mathrm{J}$. Different reference frames can assign different velocities and therefore different kinetic energies. ^[ref]

A short outline explains why kinetic energy has this formula. In a nonrelativistic inertial frame, constant mass and Newton's second law give, using the chain rule,Integrating over time proves the work-energy theorem, $W_{\mathrm{net}}=K_f-K_i$. The net force is the sum of all forces, and $W_{\mathrm{net}}$ is their total work, not merely the work of a chosen driving force. This route to final speed is useful when the forces as functions of position are known but the full motion as a function of time would be harder to find. ^[ref]

In the running example, a $2\mathrm{kg}$ point mass starts at rest and receives a constant net $3\mathrm{N}$ force through $4\mathrm{m}$. Its net work is $12\mathrm{J}$, soAt any intermediate distance $x\ge 0$, $K(x)=(3\mathrm{N})x$ and $v(x)=\sqrt{2Fx/m}$: kinetic energy is a linear function of distance, while speed is proportional to the square root of distance. If a net opposing $3\mathrm{N}$ braking force subsequently acts for $4\mathrm{m}$, it does $-12\mathrm{J}$ of work and brings this point mass to rest. Negative net work decreases kinetic energy; it does not make kinetic energy negative. Beyond the stopping point the motion must be reconsidered, since the point mass cannot keep moving forward with a negative $K$.

Kinetic energy also makes the exchange with potential energy intuitive: a falling body's loss of gravitational potential energy can appear as increased kinetic energy. The formula above applies when speed is small compared with the speed of light; at higher speeds, special relativity changes the expression. ^[ref]

Kinetic energy per unit mass. For an acceleration field $\mathbf{a}$, its change along an actual trajectory is $\Delta (|\mathbf{v}{|}^2/2)=\int \mathbf{a}\cdot d\mathbf{r}$, by the chain rule. This differs by a mass factor from the work integral of a physical force.

For unidirectional flow through area $A$ with mean speed $\overline{u}$, the outgoing kinetic-energy flux is $\frac{1}{2}\rho A\alpha {\overline{u}}^3$, where $\alpha =(A{\overline{u}}^3{)}^{-1}{\int }_A{u}^{3}dA$. Cubing the mean speed generally differs from averaging the cube. A uniform profile has $\alpha =1$; circular laminar Hagen-Poiseuille flow has $\alpha =2$.

For a free particle of rest mass $m$, subtract its rest energy $m{c}^2$ from its total energy $\gamma m{c}^2$, where $\gamma$ is the Lorentz factor. The low-speed binomial series gives $K=m{v}^2/2+3m{v}^4/(8c^2)+O(m{v}^6/c^4)$, recovering classical kinetic energy.

For rotational motion about a fixed axis, let $r$ be cylindrical radius, $v$ the signed tangential velocity, and $dm$ the mass measure. Define the kinetic energy, axial angular momentum, and moment of inertia byThe Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives $L^2\le (\int v^{2}dm)(\int r^{2}dm)=2KI$. More precisely, direct expansion gives the nonnegative energy gapThus the minimum at fixed $L$ and fixed mass distribution occurs exactly when $v=(L/I)r$ almost everywhere with respect to $dm$. This means constant angular velocity $\Omega =L/I$, or solid-body rotation. If the profile is continuous, the equality holds at every point in the mass support.

For a uniform unit-density cylinder of radius $a$, height $h$, and volume $V=\pi a^{2}h$, the moment of inertia is $I=V{a}^2/2$. Therefore $K\ge L^2/(V{a}^2)$, with equality for $\omega (r)=2L/(V{a}^2)$. Multiplying by a uniform nonunit density changes the mass measure and $I$ consistently.

Writing particle positions relative to the center of mass as ${\rho }_i=r_i-R$ makes ${\sum }_i{m}_i{\rho }_i=0$, so the cross term in the squared velocities vanishes. The total kinetic energy splits into center-of-mass translation and relative motion as displayed. For a rigid body, the latter is $\frac{1}{2}I{\omega }^2$, where $I$ is the moment of inertia about the instantaneous rotation axis through the center of mass.

For a twice differentiable position away from the origin, write $\mathbf{r}=r\mathbf{u}$ with radial unit vector $\mathbf{u}$. Its unit-length constraint gives $\mathbf{u}\cdot \dot{\mathbf{u}}=0$ and $\mathbf{u}\cdot \ddot{\mathbf{u}}=-|\dot{\mathbf{u}}{|}^2$, separating radial and directional contributions to speed and kinetic energy. The identity is kinematic and does not require a particular force law.

The kinetic energy density of a continuum with mass density $\rho$ and velocity $\mathbf{v}$ is $\rho |\mathbf{v}{|}^2/2$. For a displacement field, the material velocity is its time derivative.

Rotational kinetic energy is the kinetic energy of a rigid body's rotation. For pure rotation about an axis fixed in an inertial frame,Here $r_{\perp }$ is the perpendicular distance of a mass element $dm$ from that axis, $I$ is the moment of inertia about that same axis, and $\omega$ is the common angular speed, measured in radians per second. The rigid body assumption fixes the relative positions of the mass elements; they share angular velocity but have different speeds $v=\omega r_{\perp }$. Summing their kinetic energies $dm{v}^2/2$ gives the formula. This is a nonrelativistic model; deformation or internal motion can contribute additional kinetic energy.^[ref]

For a computed example, take a uniform disc and an ideal thin ring, each of mass $M=2\mathrm{kg}$ and radius $R=0.30\mathrm{m}$, rotating about its central perpendicular axis at angular speed $10rad/s$. The moment of inertia of a uniform disc is $M{R}^2/2=0.090\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{m}}^2$, while the ring has moment of inertia $M{R}^2=0.180\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{m}}^2$. Their rotational kinetic energies are therefore $4.5\mathrm{J}$ and $9.0\mathrm{J}$. The ring stores twice the energy at the same angular speed, because more mass lies farther from the axis. At the same nonzero rotational kinetic energy, its angular speed would instead be $1/\sqrt{2}$ times the disc's. This makes radial placement useful for storing energy in a rotating wheel, although a real design must also withstand the stresses of rotation.

For fixed-axis rotation with constant moment of inertia, write the signed rotation rate as $\Omega =\dot{\theta }$, with angle $\theta$ in radians. The axial component of net external torque obeys ${\tau }_{\mathrm{axis}}=I\dot{\Omega }$, so the work-energy theorem becomesAn opposing torque removes rotational kinetic energy; bearing friction must be included in the net torque. The signed $\Omega$ matters when the direction reverses. Rotation about a fixed axis need not be about a principal axis: the scalar energy formula still holds, but transverse bearing torques can be needed to maintain that axis.

For general rigid body motion, use the inertia tensor ${\mathsf{I}}_G$ about the centre of mass $G$:This is the kinetic-energy decomposition about the centre of mass. In a principal body frame, the rotational term is $\frac{1}{2}(I_1{\omega }_1^2+I_2{\omega }_2^2+I_3{\omega }_3^2)$, using the principal moments of inertia. Away from a principal axis, angular momentum and angular velocity need not be parallel. A freely rotating asymmetric rigid body can change the direction of angular velocity relative to the body even while rotational kinetic energy remains constant; Euler equations for a torque-free rigid body govern that motion. One constant axial moment of inertia is then insufficient.^[ref]