Demo 03-12 Energy Well Track

A ball is allowed to roll back and forth in a V-shaped track, shown in Figure 1, to illustrate transformation between mechanical potential energy and kinetic energy. When the ball is released from rest at a horizontal level below the peak at the right side of the track, its original potential energy will be converted into kinetic energy at the bottom of the V and then back into potential energy as it rises up the second side. However, it does not have sufficient energy to escape from the well. If the ball is released from rest at a point above the peak at the right side of the track, as shown, it has enough energy to escape from the well, as the video demonstrates