EVALUATION OF MECHANICAL ENERGY IN DIFFERENT FRAMES OF REFERENCE

Invoking the universality of the law of conservation of energy, it is shown that the quantifications of work and mechanical energies are dep endent on the frame of reference with respect to which these are measu red. By means of simple isothermal examples in applied mechanics (whic h avoids the complication of thermal energy considerations), the verac ity of the usual energy equations is demonstrated when different frame s of references are used for: (1) an accelerating mass, (2) connected masses and (3) a cylinder rolling freely down an incline.