Potential 217541 213106802 2008-05-17T20:25:05Z 에멜무지로 4711501 {{dablink|For other senses of this term, see [[potential (disambiguation)]].}} *The [[mathematic]]al study of potentials is known as [[potential theory]]; it is the study of [[harmonic function]]s on [[manifold]]s. This mathematical formulation arises from the fact that, in physics, the scalar potential is [[irrotational]], and thus has a vanishing [[Laplacian]] — the very definition of a harmonic function. *In [[physics]], a '''potential''' may refer to the [[scalar potential]] or to the [[vector potential]]. In either case, it is a [[field (physics)|field]] defined in space, from which many important physical properties may be derived. **Leading examples are the [[gravitational potential]] and the [[electric potential]], from which the motion of gravitating or electrically charged bodies may be obtained. **Many entities in physics may be described as vector fields, but it is often easier to work with the corresponding potentials as proxies for the fields themselves. For instance, some ''[[force field (physics)|force field]]s'' exert [[force (physics)|force]]s on a body equal to the product of the field and some invariant [[scalar (physics)|scalar]] property of the body, such as the mass or charge. As a body moves through such a force field, it [[potential difference|rises and falls in the field's potential]], gaining and losing [[energy]] through [[mechanical work]]. This exchange of energy allows the interaction to be analyzed in terms of simple laws of [[conservation of energy]], without resorting to [[kinematic]]s, which can be computationally difficult. ** In [[electrochemistry]] there are [[Galvani potential]] and [[Volta potential]]. **The [[gravitational field]] is a notable example of such a field. The [[electric field]] also behaves this way in many cases, though in the general case it does not (see [[Electric potential]] and [[Faraday's Law]]). * Specific forces have associated potentials, including the [[Coulomb potential]], the [[van der Waals potential]], the [[Lennard-Jones potential]] and the [[Yukawa potential]]. ==See also== * [[Potential difference]] * [[Potential energy]] [[Category:Potential| ]] [[es:Potencial]] [[de:Potential]] [[fr:Potentiel]] [[it:Potenziale]] [[nl:Potentiaal]] [[ja:ポテンシャル]] [[pl:Potencjał]] [[ru:Потенциал]] [[sl:Potencial]] [[sv:Potential]] [[lt:Potencialas]]