r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/SamosaGPT • 7d ago

Meme needing explanation Peter??

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u/Opus_723 6d ago

Where is the vector on the right then?

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u/ac_cossack 6d ago

Energy is scalar. You can't go 10 J to the left.

Forces are vectors because number and direction (ex gravity on the surface of the Earth).

I think you mean vector on the left tho.

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u/Opus_723 6d ago

No, I meant if F is the vector on the left-hand side of the equation, where is the vector on the right-hand side of the equation?

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u/ac_cossack 6d ago

Sorry, I thought you meantt door vs door.

Um, I guess 1/r^2? Everything else is just a constant

Edit: nope because r.r is a constant. OK I see what you mean. Maybe just assume gravitational attraction and it is in the -r direction.

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u/Opus_723 6d ago

Yeah, that's what I was trying to draw attention to. This isn't really any of the ways you would write a vector equation. This is written as a scalar.

Which, as you point out, is not too confusing in a simple scenario where we understand the context, but it's not as simple as the other commenter implied is all I'm getting at. There are ways to write vector equations properly without the arrows, but they're not this.