Build the Hill Out of qV, Then Let Go

You'll learnwhich way a released charge accelerates and why, and when constant-acceleration kinematics is safe to use on it — and when only energy conservation gives the right answer.

Release an electron beside the zero-volt plate of a hundred-volt gap and it accelerates toward the hundred-volt plate: uphill in potential, downhill in energy. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · THE HILL IS qV · ENERGY OVER KINEMATICS · v2

the hill is qV · reach for energy when the force will not hold still

Before you start

What you're looking at

Charges released and allowed to move, with the energy landscape each one rolls down plotted underneath. Which landscape a particle is on depends on the sign of its charge.

The question

Which way does a released charge go, and when is constant-acceleration kinematics safe to use on it?

Step 1 / 12