FORCES There are different types of forces that act in different ways on structures such as bridges, chairs, buildings,

in fact any structure. The main examples of forces are shown below. Study the diagram and text and then draw a diagram/pictogram to represent each of these forces.

A Static Load : A good example of this is a person seen on the left. He is holding a stack of books on his back but he is not moving. The force downwards is STATIC.

A Dynamic Load : A good example of a dynamic load is the person on the right. He is carrying a weight of books but walking. The force is moving or DYNAMIC.

Internal Resistance : The person in the diagram is sat on the mono-bicycle and the air filled tyre is under great pressure. The air pressure inside it pushes back against his/her weight.

Tension : The rope is in tension as the two people pull on it. This stretching puts the rope in tension.

Compression : The weight lifter finds that his body is compressed by the weights he is holding above his head.

Shear Force : A good example of shear force is seen with a simple scissors. The two handles put force in different directions on the pin that holds the two parts together. The force applied to the pin is called shear force.

Torsion : The plastic ruler is twisted between both hands. The ruler is said to be in a state of torsion.

SIMPLE MACHINES Which machines belong to the inclined plane family? The inclined plane The word "inclined" means "at an angle". The word "plane" means "a flat surface". An inclined plane is a slope or a ramp. It can be any slanted surface used to raise a load from a lower level to a higher level. Examples of an inclined plane include: a ramp used by a workman to push a heavy load on wheels up into a truck, ramps for wheel chairs, ramps to load luggage onto a plane, an escalator. An inclined plane was used to move huge stones to build the Egyptian Pyramids. Which machines belong to the lever family? The lever - a bar that turns on a point, called a fulcrum. The wheel and axle - a circular lever, whose fulcrum (pivot point) is an axle. The pulley - another circular lever, but the pulley wheel rotates freely on the axle.

Why does an inclined plane make work easier? Principle of the Inclined Plane W = Fd (Force x distance) As with all simple machines, the inclined plane can be used to trade increased distance for decreased force or effort. The force is applied in a different direction to that in which movement takes place.

How does the wedge work? A double wedge is made up of two inclined planes back to back. You find a double wedge on an axe blade. Single wedges resemble an inclined plane, because they have only one sloping surface. A doorstop is a single wedge. Remember that the inclined plane does not move.

A special form of the inclined plane - The screw A screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder. The inclined plane forms ridges in a spiral along the cylinder. These ridges are called the threads of the screw. The distance between the threads is called "the pitch" of the screw.

Let's examine the lever A lever consists of a rigid arm, which is free to turn about a fixed point called the fulcrum. The fulcrum is a pivot point. The effort force (push or pull) is exerted upon one lever arm, and the other lever arm will go up or down in the opposite direction. The resisting weight (the load) is exerted upon the lever arm, which tends to move the lever in the opposite direction to the applied force.

Back to menu Principles of the lever family With levers, the force is applied at a different point from the load. The closer the fulcrum to the load, the less force needed to lift the load. The force will move a greater distance, and the load will move a shorter distance. The closer the fulcrum to the force, the greater the force needed to lift the load. The force will move a shorter distance, and the load will move a greater distance. What is a wheel and axle? The wheel and axle is a first class lever in which the fulcrum has been replaced by an axle and the arms have been repeated around the axle to make up the spokes or disk of the wheel. This allows the lever to rotate through 360 instead of the limited rotation in the teeter-totter application. However, it is important to differentiate between a wheel used simply as a roller to counteract friction (i.e. the front wheel of a bicycle), and the wheel and axle where a small amount of force is applied to the wheel which moves the axle with greater force (i.e. the back wheel of a bicycle driven by pedals/gears). With the roller, the force that moves the object is often not applied directly to the wheel. The gear - a special form of lever Gears are wheels with teeth that can be used to gain force or speed or change direction. When one gear drives another, the two gears turn in the opposite direction. If it is required that they turn in the same direction, a third gear called an "idler gear" is interposed between them.

WORK If a pulley lifts 10 N up 0.4 m, how much work is done by the pulley on the weight? 4 J. Lets try a simple quantitative measurement. To climb stairs you have to work against gravity. The force of gravity on you is your weight so you have to lift your weight over each step, a distance of D. Lets see how much work and power it takes to climb a flight of stairs. Find your weight in Newtons. If you know it in pounds, convert it to N by multiplying your weight by 4.45 N/pound. If you have a kilogram scale, multiply your mass by 9.8 m/sec2 to get N. This is the F for your equation. Find the distance up you climb. This is not the linear the distance you walk from the bottom step to the top step. It is the sum total of the step heights. This is your D. The Work is simply the product of F times D. In my case, a 3.5 meter stair height and a 890 N force yields a work effort of 3115 J (or 3.115 kilojoules or 3.115 kJ).

FORMS OF ENERGY Both potential and kinetic energy come in a variety of forms.

Energy Form

Description

Examples

Mechanical Energy

The energy associated with the motion or position of an object. This can occur as either pushing a car kinetic or potential energy. Read this article on mechanical energy. Potential energy stored in the bonds that hold fossil fuels, the atoms together in a molecule food energy The internal energy of substances caused by hot vibration and movement of atoms and steam molecules within the substance. The energy of moving electrical charges. batteries, lightening water,

Chemical Energy

Thermal Energy

Electrical Energy

Radiant Energy

Electromagnetic energy that travels in waves which possess both electrical and magnetic properties. Visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, sunlight radiowaves and microwave radiation are all examples. Potential energy stored in the nucleus of an Nucleus of a atom. uranium atom Energy of place or position. Water held behind a dam is an example of gravitational potential Hydroelectric energy. When the water is released, its energy reservoir becomes mechanical energy.

Nuclear Energy

Gravitational Energy

Units of Energy Since we use energy to do many different types of work such as electrical, mechanical and thermal work, there are many different units used to measure the quantities of energy used. For example, the joule is a measure of electrical energy while the calorie or British thermal unit (BTU) is typically used for measuring thermal energy. Some Common Energy Units The amount of work or energy exerted when a force of one newton causes a displacement of one meter The energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1oC 1 cal = 4.184 J The energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1oF 1 BTU = 1055 J also the energy needed to maintain a flow of 1 ampere for 1 second at a potential of 1 volt in electrical applications the nutritional Calorie is in actuality a kilocalorie (kcal) 1 C = 1 kcal = 4.184 J the unit used extensively engineering applications in

joule (J)

calorie (cal)

British Thermal Unit (BTU)

heating and cooling units (air conditioners) are rated in BTU units

The following factors can be used to convert among these energy units: 1 J 1 cal 1 BTU = 1.055 kJ = 0.252 kcal = = 0.2388 4.1868 cal J

EXAMPLE In order to compare two different energy sources, you should convert them both to the same energy unit. Suppose you use natural gas as your home heating fuel while your brother uses heating oil to heat similar 2,000 sq ft. houses. You consume 80,000 cubic feet of natural gas, and your brother uses 500 gallons of heating oil during the winter. Which of you has used more energy to heat your house? Conversion Factors: 1 gal heating oil = 139,000 BTU 1 Solution: # BTU Natural Gas Used = (80,000 ft3) (1,026 BTU/3) = 82,080,000 or 8.2 x 107 BTU # BTU Heating Oil Used = (500 gal) (139,000 BTU/gal) = 69,500,000 or 6.9 x 107 BTU You used more energy to heat your house. PROBLEM You are an executive for the local power company. The company's power generators will run on either natural gas or residual fuel oil. It is your job to switch the generators between the two fuels so that you are always using the less expensive fuel to keep costs down. Your generators are currently running on natural gas but the price of natural gas is rising more rapidly than the price of residual fuel oil. Based on the fact that natural gas costs $4.87 per thousand cubic feet and residual fuel oil costs $28.30 per barrel, determine if you should switch to residual fuel oil or remain on natural gas. (To check your answer, place your mouse over Mozilla.) 1 cubic foot of natural gas = 1,026 BTU 1 barrel of residual fuel oil = 6,287,000 BTU cubic ft natural gas = 1, 026 BTU

Units of Power The unit of power is joules per second or J/s when work is measured in joules and time in seconds. The basic unit of power, 1 J/s is called a watt (W), named after James Watt who made important improvements to the steam engine. By definition, a watt is the consumption of one joule of energy per second. 1 W = 1 J/s

PROBLEM

A crane lifts an 8,000-N beam 75 meters to the top of a building in 30 seconds. How much power does the crane use? (To check your answer, place your mouse over Mozilla.)

If work is the transfer of energy, power is the rate at which energy is being transferred from one object to another or converted from one form into another. Light bulbs are rated by their wattage output. The power of a light bulb, its wattage, is the rate at which the bulb converts electrical energy into radiant light and thermal energy. A 100 W light bulb is brighter than a 60 W light bulb because it converts 100 joules of electrical energy per second while a 60 W light bulb converts 60 joules every second.

Power Units

Watt (W)

the power resulting from an energy dissipation, conversion, or storage process equivalent to one joule per second

1 KW = 1000 W = 1000J/s The megawatt (MW) is the unit by which power generating plants are often rated 1 MW = 1,000,000 W

Horsepower (hp)

a unit of power representing the power exerted by a horse in pulling 1 hp= 746 W

Used to express power in mechanical energy expenditure.

PROBLEM

Consider taking a 1-horsepower horse and putting it on a treadmill to operate a generator.

How many watts of energy would the horse continuously generate? If the energy output of the generator was run through a electric heater, how many BTU would be produced in an hour?. Since the BTU is equal to 1,055 joules or 0.252 food Calories. How many Calories would this horse burn in one hour if it were 100-percent efficient?

To check your answers, place your mouse over Mozilla.

The kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a commercial unit of electrical energy. It is the amount of energy that results from the steady production or consumption of one kilowatt of power over one hour. It is equivalent to 3.6 megajoules of energy or 3412 BTU. Although this is not a standard measurement unit for any scientific system, it is the unit by which electrical consumption in homes and businesses is measured.