Kinetic Energy Calculator
Calculate kinetic energy from mass and velocity using KE = 0.5mv².
Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to its motion. The formula KE = ½mv² shows that kinetic energy depends on both mass and the square of velocity — meaning doubling speed quadruples kinetic energy.
This has profound implications for vehicle safety: a car traveling at 100 km/h has four times the kinetic energy of the same car at 50 km/h, requiring four times the braking distance. It is why speed limits exist and why high-speed collisions are so destructive.
A 1000 kg car at 20 m/s (72 km/h) carries 200,000 joules (200 kJ) of kinetic energy. For comparison, a rifle bullet (10 g at 900 m/s) carries only 4,050 J but concentrates it on a tiny area, which is why penetration, not total energy, matters for ballistics.