<P> Émilie du Châtelet ( 1706 -- 1749 ) proposed and tested the hypothesis of the conservation of total energy , as distinct from momentum . Inspired by the theories of Gottfried Leibniz , she repeated and publicized an experiment originally devised by Willem ' s Gravesande in 1722 in which balls were dropped from different heights into a sheet of soft clay . Each ball 's kinetic energy - as indicated by the quantity of material displaced - was shown to be proportional to the square of the velocity . The deformation of the clay was found to be directly proportional to the height the balls were dropped from , equal to the initial potential energy . Earlier workers , including Newton and Voltaire , had all believed that `` energy '' ( so far as they understood the concept at all ) was not distinct from momentum and therefore proportional to velocity . According to this understanding , the deformation of the clay should have been proportional to the square root of the height from which the balls were dropped from . In classical physics the correct formula is E k = 1 2 m v 2 ( \ displaystyle E_ ( k ) = ( \ frac ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ) mv ^ ( 2 ) ) , where E k ( \ displaystyle E_ ( k ) ) is the kinetic energy of an object , m ( \ displaystyle m ) its mass and v ( \ displaystyle v ) its speed . On this basis , Châtelet proposed that energy must always have the same dimensions in any form , which is necessary to be able to relate it in different forms ( kinetic , potential , heat ... ) . </P>
<P> Émilie du Châtelet ( 1706 -- 1749 ) proposed and tested the hypothesis of the conservation of total energy , as distinct from momentum . Inspired by the theories of Gottfried Leibniz , she repeated and publicized an experiment originally devised by Willem ' s Gravesande in 1722 in which balls were dropped from different heights into a sheet of soft clay . Each ball 's kinetic energy - as indicated by the quantity of material displaced - was shown to be proportional to the square of the velocity . The deformation of the clay was found to be directly proportional to the height the balls were dropped from , equal to the initial potential energy . Earlier workers , including Newton and Voltaire , had all believed that `` energy '' ( so far as they understood the concept at all ) was not distinct from momentum and therefore proportional to velocity . According to this understanding , the deformation of the clay should have been proportional to the square root of the height from which the balls were dropped from . In classical physics the correct formula is E k = 1 2 m v 2 ( \ displaystyle E_ ( k ) = ( \ frac ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ) mv ^ ( 2 ) ) , where E k ( \ displaystyle E_ ( k ) ) is the kinetic energy of an object , m ( \ displaystyle m ) its mass and v ( \ displaystyle v ) its speed . On this basis , Châtelet proposed that energy must always have the same dimensions in any form , which is necessary to be able to relate it in different forms ( kinetic , potential , heat ... ) . </P>
who made the law of conservation of energy
who made the law of conservation of energy
Émilie du Châtelet
Émilie du Châtelet