P = mgh question

[EliminatorVenom]

Okay, this is a rather specific question.

Initially, I just wanted to know if using P = mgh is an accurate way to calculate the energy yield that a character would need to endure from falling from a specific height, and really, that is still my main question.

But what does PE really represent? Does it represent the energy of the impact of said object upon falling from the described altitude? Or is it the energy that acts upon the object, at that height, at that gravity, sort of "circulating" around it?

This might be a stupid or too abstract a question, but it is tied to how applicable it really is to describe a character falling from great heights.

 

[Newendigo]

Potential energy is the accumulated energy an object obtains in relation to the force that is either stretching or conpressing the object from its balanced point (The stretching/compressing force can be anything, from gravity to springs)

Once the object is freed from its restrain the potential energy will turn into kinetic energy. You can say that PE is just KE charged up in a spot that has to be yet released.

As for how applicable it is to characters falling from great heights, is it applicable to a certain extend. Air resistance can get in the way of the falling character (Specially if they have a large surface area), thus decreasing their speed, and byproxy disminishing the final kinetic energy upon impact.

This means that the Kinetic energy of a falling character does not always equals their initial potential energy, I think the PE calculations are more of an approximation of what they tanked upon impact than a fully accurate result.

 

[EliminatorVenom]

Oooh, everything's much clearer now! Thanks, man!

 

[Jasonsith]

Mostly said by above.

A s a side note, a vertical jump allows AP (and possibly LS) of footwork to translate KE into PE. So jumping great heights can translate into attack potency and (deductively) lifting strength because F = ma