# creatio energiam ex nihilo - have I got my Latin right?



## RockNote

I wish to say: a creation of energy from nothing. My questions are as follows:

1. Is "energia" correctly declined (accusative, singular)?
2. I am thinking of physical (kinetic) energy. Is there a synonym to "energia" that I ought to consider?

Thank you

Anders


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## Schimmelreiter

Why acc.? Genitive!

_​Creatio energiae ex nihilo._


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## RockNote

Schimmelreiter said:


> Why acc.? Genitive!
> 
> _​Creatio energiae ex nihilo._


Well, it's the object of "creatio," isn't it? Ah! Now, I understand what you mean! I believe your genitive comes from the "of energy" which of course is the genitive in English, but hardly in Latin.

As a synonym, I am wondering if POTENTIA would be the better bet. It seems more current, at least in my dictionaries. I wonder what word Isaac Newton used in his works on physics? Neither, it seems, cf. http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk/prism.php?id=45 Perhaps the concept of energy is a later development? I would like to keep the distinction clear between kinetic (dynamic) and potential (static) energy. BTW, in physics in English do you speak of kinetic or dynamic energy (or some third word) when denoting energy of movement? As far as I can make out from Wiki, "kinetic" is fine to use, cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_energy


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## Schimmelreiter

RockNote said:


> hardly in Latin


_creatio _is a noun, why would it govern the accusative? _creare energiam_, of course, but whence your certainty?


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## RockNote

Schimmelreiter said:


> _creatio _is a noun, why would it govern the accusative? _creare energiam_, of course, but whence your certainty?


Oh! But that's where I went wrong then! I'm sorry - and my Latin skills somewhat rusty! 

So, you maintain: Creatio energiae ex nihilo?


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## Schimmelreiter

Per Iovem: Yes.


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## RockNote

Thanks a lot for helping me out in this thread! I do appreciate it.


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## Scholiast

Salvete amici!

Classical usage would also permit, if not positively encourage...

_energia ex nihilo creata_

That is, "energy _created_ from nothing".

Σ


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## Schimmelreiter

Scholiast said:


> Salvete amici!
> 
> Classical usage would also permit, if not positively encourage...
> 
> _energia ex nihilo creata_
> 
> That is, "energy _created_ from nothing".
> 
> Σ


And of course _energia ex nihilo creanda (to be created from nothing)
_Perhaps also _energia ex nihilo creabilis_


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## RockNote

Scholiast said:


> Salvete amici!
> 
> Classical usage would also permit, if not positively encourage...
> 
> _energia ex nihilo creata_
> 
> That is, "energy _created_ from nothing".
> 
> Σ


Thanks a lot for adding this suggestion. It may however take me a bit too far from what I hope to say. "Creatio ex nihilo" is an idiom recognized also by people who may have little or no Latin - and basically this is the idiom I wish to allude to. This is the fundamental trope I hope to invoke. However, there is a difference between the general "creatio ex nihilo" and a more specific "creatio energiae ex nihilo."

To be even more specific, the energy I am concerned with is kinetic energy, i.e. energy of movement. How do I throw this into the mix? "Kinesis" appears to be a greek word.


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## Scholiast

salvete iterum


> "Kinesis" appears to be a greek word.



Indeed it is - but so is _energia_ (ἐνέργεια). RockNote appears to be thinking of the Newtonian principle of the conservation of energy, which denies the possibility of perpetual motion.

In the light of the paucity of the Romans' scientific experience and language, the mighty few such as Pliny the Elder had little trouble with simply transliterating Greek terms, so one could suitably use the expression ἐνέργεια κινητικἠ, which in the appropriate genitive would come out as _energiae cineticae_.

Σ


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## RockNote

Scholiast said:


> salvete iterum
> 
> 
> Indeed it is - but so is _energia_ (ἐνέργεια). RockNote appears to be thinking of the Newtonian principle of the conservation of energy, which denies the possibility of perpetual motion.
> 
> In the light of the paucity of the Romans' scientific experience and language, the mighty few such as Pliny the Elder had little trouble with simply transliterating Greek terms, so one could suitably use the expression ἐνέργεια κινητικἠ, which in the appropriate genitive would come out as _energiae cineticae_.
> 
> Σ


That is terrific! Thank you so much!


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