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Re: Potential Energy = "U"?

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 22:18:19 +0000
Reply-to: phys-l@mailer.uwf.edu
From: kifer/belk <gsanda@tfs.net>
To: phys-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
Subject: Potential Energy = "U"?

I am sure someone out there can help with this. Why is
the letter "U" used for potential energy?

Thanx
Kifer
I don't know but I guess if you want a one-letter handle
you need to pick one that is not in use for something else
in your calculation. There are many questions of this
kind: Why is S the entropy? Why is H the enthalpy? Why is
Q the heat? None of this really seems to have any logical
reasoning behind it. Why are the large and small greek
psi's used for the Schroedinger wave functions?

I have always believed that these names are picked just
because we want something unique and easy to remember.
Sometimes, looking back we can see some of the ideas that
were in the mind of the person naming the quantity and
sometimes not. In the words of the magician (adapted and
applied to a new situation) "pick a name--any name". WBN
Barlow Newbolt
Department of Physics and Engineering
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA 24450
Telephone and Phone Mail: 540-463-8881
Fax: 540-463-8884
e-mail: NewboltW@madison.acad.wlu.edu

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."

Neils Bohr