The vis viva
<h4>The <i>vis viva</i></h4>
<p>Leibniz's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vis_viva" title="Vis viva">vis viva</a></i> (Latin for "living force") is <var >mv</var><sup>2</sup>, twice the modern <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_energy" title="Kinetic energy">kinetic energy</a>. He realized that the total energy would be conserved in certain mechanical systems, so he considered it an innate motive characteristic of matter.<sup id="cite_ref-80" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz#cite_note-80">[80]</a></sup> Here too his thinking gave rise to another regrettable nationalistic dispute. His <i>vis viva</i> was seen as rivaling the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_momentum" class="mw-redirect" title="Conservation of momentum">conservation of momentum</a> championed by Newton in England and by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descartes" class="mw-redirect" title="Descartes">Descartes</a> in France; hence <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academics" class="mw-redirect" title="Academics">academics</a> in those countries tended to neglect Leibniz's idea. In reality, both <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy" title="Energy">energy</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momentum" title="Momentum">momentum</a> are conserved, so the two approaches are equally valid.</p>