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ENERGY AND POWER

ENERGY. Altough the fundamental definition of energy can be brief, i.e. Energy is the
ability or capasity to do work, it immediately calls for an explantation of work, and of
power, and therefore must be prolonged.
The concept of WORK has already been discussed in the previous unit, where the work
done has been expressed as

W=

POWER is defined as the rate at which work is performed. The average power
accomplished by an agent during a given period of time is equal to the total work
performed by the agent during the period, divided by the length of the time interval. The
instantaneuos power can be expressed simply as
P = dW / dt
In the CGS system, power has the units of ergs per second : in the MKS system, units of
joules per secound ( or wattes ) : and in the English system, units of foot-pounds per
second.

The units of energy are identical with the units of work, given in Unit 1.
Energy can exist in a variety of forms (e.g.t internal energy, heat energy, electrical,
magnetic, chemical, nuclear energy, etc. ), some more recognizable as being capable of
performing work than others. Forms in which the energy is not dependent upon
mehanical motion are generally referred to as forms of potential energy. This is the
energy a body possesses by virtue of its position. The most common example in this
category is gravitational potential energy. A body near the earth s surface undergoes a
change in potential energy when it is changed in elevation. So, the gravitational potential
energy of a body of mass m at a height h above a particular reference point is mah, or, if
its weight w is specifeid, its potential energy is wh.
Potential energy also may be stored in an elastic body, such as a spring or a container of
compressed gas. It may exist in the form of chemical potential energy, as measured by
the amount of energy made aviable when given substances react chemically. Potential
energy also exists in the nuclei of atoms and can be released by certain nuclear
rearrangements.
Kinetic energy is the energy associated with mehanical motion of bodies. This is the
energy a moving body possesses by virtue of its motion. It is quantitatively equal to
mv2, where m is the mass of a body moving with velocity v. In the case of rotational
motion, the kinetc energy is more easily calculated, using the expression IW 2, where I
is a moment of inertia of the body about its axis of rotation is the angular velocity.
Kinetic energy, like al forms of energy, is a scalar quantity (having magnitude but no
direction).
Conservation and transformation of energy. A basic principle or termodynamics known as
the conservation of energy requires than within any closed system the total energy must

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remain constant. Energy can be changed from one form to another ; but the total, so
long as n energy is added to or lost from the system must be constant.
Application of the second 1aw of termodynamics leads to the coclusion that if any
physical system is left to itself and allowe to distribute its energy in its own way, it
always does so in a manne such that this quantity, called entropy, increases, while at the
sam the energy usually flows from higher levels to lower levels in direction such that
the entropy increaces.
The concept of energy is central to termodynamics, quantitativ chemistry, and
electromagnetism.