Work Due To Raise Or To Accelerate A Body

·         When a body is raised in a gravitational field, its potential energy increased.

·         When a body is accelerated, its kinetic energy increases.

·         The conservation of energy principle requires that an equivalent amount of energy must be transferred to the body being raised or accelerated. Remember that energy can be transferred to a given mass by heat and work.If the energy transferred in the case obviously is not heat and it is not driven by a temperature difference, it must be work.

·         We conclude that:

1. The work needed to transfer a body is equal to the change in the potential energy of the body
2. The work transfer needed to accelerate a body is equal to the change in the kinetic energy of a body

Similarly, the potential or kinetic energy of a body represents the work that can be obtained from the body as it is lowered to the reference level or decelerated to zero velocity.