Potential Energy Modeling#

We report electrostatic potential energy as \( E_p = \sum_{i<j} k \frac{q_i q_j}{\max(r_{ij}, 10^{-6})}. \)

Notes:

  • We do not apply softening to \(E_p\); instead, a singularity guard avoids division by zero.

  • This choice makes \(E_p\) not exactly consistent with the softened forces used in dynamics, but remains a useful qualitative indicator.

  • Merges of opposite charges are inelastic; energy is not conserved across merges by design.

See computation: electrosim.simulation.physics.total_potential_energy().

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