QUANTIFICATION OF ENERGY LOSSES IN REAL MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

Creation of an atmosphere that enables students to grasp the essence of phenomena and scientific concepts they are studying is closely associated with experience gained in laboratories. Students often encounter difficulties in understanding the concept of energy transformation and conservation and the friction phenomenon. The paper presents a new method, based on Euler’s research, which enables quantification of „losses” of mechanical energy in real mechanical systems. Applying the principles of Euler’s method, an apparatus has been developed, enabling the quantification of very small “energy losses” of the order of 0.01 [J].