Tinman
As a realist I always found the term "potential energy" to be absurd. Potential energy describing the supposed energy that an object possesses due to its position relative to other objects or its configuration. I do not recognize potential energy as a valid form of energy.
Energy is defined as the capacity of something to perform work. Work defined as what happens when a force applied to an object causing it to move in the direction of the force. Key concept, to move or change in reality not imaginary. The term potential energy only implies something could move not that it is or will start moving/changing.
However if science wants to use nonsensical terms imagining a measure of something or possibility of something happening is actually something tangible we can use this. I declare everything everywhere in the universe has unlimited potential energy because there is the possibility it could move anywhere relative to any other thing for any reason. Everything everywhere must have an unlimited quantity of this imaginary potential energy.
Here is a clue from Chat GPT, Potential energy may not directly manifest as work until it is converted into kinetic energy or some other form of energy. Converted into kinetic energy?, converted from what?, lol. It then goes on to claim potential energy is based on the COE and mathematical formulation. Then the real kicker, it is still considered real because of its fundamental role in the laws of physics. Ah, so there just making crap up pretending potential energy is real energy because of there obsession to calculate everything rather than understand it. Like imaginary lines and loops, imaginary variable space time, imaginary gravity particles/waves, imaginary worm holes and parallel dimensions. Can't understand it?...just make something imaginary seem real, what a gong show.
AC
Potential energy is not imaginary, it is real. Ironically we use the imaginary number line to define it. But imaginary numbers have two parts a real part and "imaginary" part. And somehow we forgot that the "imaginary" number i also has two roots too that surprisingly do not ONLY fall on the imaginary number line but between both at 45 degrees which is a major clue Einstein lovers have missed. So "potential" energy must have two forms as well. A linear one, and a non-linear or rather a circular one (the imaginary part). For example, a charged capacitor or the "circular" magnetic energy in a coil, or a raised mass and spinning mass alternatively. Kinetic energy on the other hand is defined by the real number line only, and its roots are simply either positive or negative, there is no rotation and therefore only comes in one form, in straight lines that can either go forward or backward. For example, bullets, electric discharge tubes, thunder, lasers, newtons second law essentially...
The interesting part is the non linear part of energy. Aka rotational "potential" energy aka rotational "kinetic" energy but I dont like to use the latter as its not "kinetic" by nature. Just like we see the energy stored in a gyroscope as potential energy and not kinetic.
The question is how can this form of potential energy be turned into pure linear energy. Newtons laws dont care about HOW momentum is conserved. You can turn 100kg going at 1m/s into 1kg going 100m/s. A massive energy gain but momentum wise nothing changed. This is the true "gift", conservation of momentum not energy. Energy is time based, time can be changed depending on your reference frame, and guess where that happens all the time? Yes in rotation. A rotating wheel has different velocities depending on where you measure at the radius.
Turning "potential" into kinetic energy only depends on our free will not some man made misunderstood "law". Momentum on the other hand is constant across time always conserved, always accounted for all the time. This is why I think KE + PE = constant and why I believe the system we live in is closed. But open or closed it doesn't matter, we just need to find the energy diode and point it in the direction we want.
But hey just another crazy theory, I change my mind all the time too on theories I come up with so take it with a grain of salt.
Perhaps Einstein knew all along and didn't want to taint his legacy at his old age, who knows. Mankind has a bad tendency of turning everything it discovers into cowardly weapons to kill, conquer and oppress. Energy is not going to save us from ourselves, cooperation will.
Do you think its a coincidence that the blackbird cart which keeps accelerating faster than the wind used a VSR (their term for Vehicle Speed Ratio) of 0.7 which is the real and imaginary value for the square root of 'i'? I dont believe in coincidences. Nature has no secrets, everything is there in plain sight if you chose to look. But you can also chose to be blind. The choice is always yours to make.