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Potential Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple re ...
generally refers to a currently unrealized ability, in a wide variety of fields from physics to the social sciences.


Mathematics and physics

* Scalar potential, a scalar field whose gradient is a given vector field *
Vector potential In vector calculus, a vector potential is a vector field whose curl is a given vector field. This is analogous to a ''scalar potential'', which is a scalar field whose gradient is a given vector field. Formally, given a vector field v, a ''vecto ...
, a vector field whose curl is a given vector field * Potential function (disambiguation) * Potential variable (Boolean differential calculus) *
Potential energy In physics, potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors. Common types of potential energy include the gravitational potent ...
, the energy possessed by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors *
Magnetic vector potential In classical electromagnetism, magnetic vector potential (often called A) is the vector quantity defined so that its curl is equal to the magnetic field: \nabla \times \mathbf = \mathbf. Together with the electric potential ''φ'', the magnetic v ...
*
Magnetic scalar potential Magnetic scalar potential, ''ψ'', is a quantity in classical electromagnetism analogous to electric potential. It is used to specify the magnetic H-field in cases when there are no free currents, in a manner analogous to using the electric po ...
(ψ) *
Electric potential The electric potential (also called the ''electric field potential'', potential drop, the electrostatic potential) is defined as the amount of work energy needed to move a unit of electric charge from a reference point to the specific point in ...
, the amount of work needed to move a unit positive charge from a reference point to a specific point inside the field without producing any acceleration *
Electromagnetic four-potential An electromagnetic four-potential is a relativistic vector function from which the electromagnetic field can be derived. It combines both an electric scalar potential and a magnetic vector potential into a single four-vector.Gravitation, J.A. ...
, a relativistic vector function from which the electromagnetic field can be derived * Coulomb potential *
Van der Waals force In molecular physics, the van der Waals force is a distance-dependent interaction between atoms or molecules. Unlike ionic or covalent bonds, these attractions do not result from a chemical electronic bond; they are comparatively weak and ...
, distance-dependent interactions between atoms or molecules * Lennard-Jones potential, a mathematical model that approximates the interaction between a pair of neutral atoms or molecules. * Yukawa potential, a potential in particle physics which may arise from the exchange of a massive scalar field *
Gravitational potential In classical mechanics, the gravitational potential at a location is equal to the work (energy transferred) per unit mass that would be needed to move an object to that location from a fixed reference location. It is analogous to the electric p ...


Biology

*
Action potential An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific cell location rapidly rises and falls. This depolarization then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarize. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells, ...
, occurs when the membrane potential of a specific axon location rapidly rises and falls: this depolarisation then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarise *
Membrane potential Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. That is, there is a difference in the energy required for electric charges ...
, the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. With respect to the exterior of the cell, typical values of membrane potential range from –40 mV to –80 mV *
Water potential Water potential is the potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions. Water potential quantifies the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure and matr ...
, the potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions


Linguistics

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Potential mood In linguistics, irrealis moods (abbreviated ) are the main set of grammatical moods that indicate that a certain situation or action is not known to have happened at the moment the speaker is talking. This contrasts with the realis moods. Every ...


Popular culture

* "Potential" (''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''), an episode of a television series *
Potential and new Slayers A Slayer, in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'' (both created by Joss Whedon), is a young woman bestowed with mystical powers that originate from the essence of a pure-demon, which gives her superhuman senses, streng ...
, characters in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' *
Potential (song) Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple r ...
, a song by Danielle Bradbery on her album, ''I Don't Believe We've Met''


Philosophy and society

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Potentiality and actuality In philosophy, potentiality and actuality are a pair of closely connected principles which Aristotle used to analyze motion, causality, ethics, and physiology in his ''Physics'', ''Metaphysics'', ''Nicomachean Ethics'', and ''De Anima''. The c ...
, a "possibility" that a thing can be said to have *
Human Potential Movement The Human Potential Movement (HPM) arose out of the counterculture of the 1960s and formed around the concept of an extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people. The movement takes as its premise the be ...
, a social movement which asserts that all people have extraordinary untapped potential capacities


See also

* *
Ability (disambiguation) An ability is the power an agent has to perform various actions. Ability may also refer to: * Aptitude, a component of a competency to do a certain kind of work at a certain level * Capability (disambiguation) * Intellectual giftedness, an int ...
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