The formula for kinetic energy, mV²/2, is one of the fundamental physics equations that describes a moving object’s energy. Despite its simplicity, its derivation resulted from extensive physical theories and experimental research development.
Historically, the first scientist to propose a connection between the energy of motion and the velocity of an object was Gottfried Leibniz in 1686. He suggested that kinetic energy is proportional to the square of velocity or, in other words, velocity is proportional to the square root of energy: v ∝ √(E). He also formulated the principle of conservation of kinetic energy (Ek), which states that the sum of the kinetic energies of all masses in a system remains constant as long as the masses do not interact with bodies outside the system: Ek = ∑mᵢvᵢ², where mᵢ represents the mass of each particle, and vᵢ represents their velocities. Now we know that it’s not quite the case that the law of conservation of energy looks somewhat different and, at the very least, includes potential energy. But Leibniz’s results for the 17th century were quite impressive.
However, Newton’s followers and Cartesians rejected Leibniz’s ideas about kinetic energy because they contradicted the law of conservation of momentum, which was widely accepted at that time. Newton’s framework did not differentiate between motion…
