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Work, Power And Energy

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Define Work, Power and Energy

Work is considered accomplished when an object or a body does move when applied to external forces. So, people can consider work to be an activity that involves force and movement in the direction that goes with the force. For instance, a force of thirty Newtons or N that pushes an object three meters in a similar direction of the force would do ninety joules of work. Work is done if a force does produce motion, and to do work, people need to use their energy. They get this energy from the food that they eat. Again, when a machine does work, then the electricity or the fuel supplies this energy. And so, work, energy and power are interrelated.


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An Illustration of Work, Energy and Power

In Physics work, energy and power are vital. Work is measured as a product of energy that is transferred from or to an object through the application of force. To put it in simple words, most often, work is represented in the form of displacement or a product of force. The force is known to do only the positive work, and it has got an element in the way of the point or application’s displacement. A force also does negative work when it has an element that is opposite to the displacement direction. For instance, when you hold a ball above the ground before you drop it then the job of the gravitational force on the ball when it falls becomes equal to the ball’s weight and it is being multiplied by the distance that the ball has to the ground. 


As work tends to be a scalar quantity, it has got magnitude only. It does not possess any direction. It is the work that shifts energy from place to place and, at times, from one form to other forms. Joule is the SI unit of work, and it is symbolized as J. This remains the same unit that you use for energy.

What Happens if Work is Accomplished Against Gravity?

If work is accomplished against gravity, then the amount of work that is accomplished becomes equal to the product of body weight besides the vertical distance via which the body gets lifted. When people kick a football, they use an external force and it is known as F. Because of this force; the ball does move to a specific distance. The disposition of the ball from A position to B position is called displacement or d. Here, in this matter, the work is called accomplished. 


You can calculate work as W = F x d.


Work is equal to Displacement x Force or F x d

What is Meant By Power?

Power is defined as the speed at which people do their work. This is the work that is accomplished in a unit of time. Watt is the SI unit of power and it is symbolized by W. At times, motor vehicles and other vehicles’ power is provided in hp, which is meant as horsepower. This is nearly equal to 745.7 W. 


In Physics, power happens to be the amount of energy that is shifted or changed per unit time. When the matter of Intl. The System of Units is concerned, then Watt becomes the unit of power, and it is the same as one joule/second. In older work, power is at times known as an activity, whereas Power is called a scalar quantity.


A motor’s output power is known as the component of the torque, and a motor generates it. The power that is included in transferring a ground vehicle happens to be the production of those wheels’ traction force. In the sphere of classical mechanics, the motive power of jet-propelled vehicles is considered the velocity and engine thrust of the vehicle. The rate at which light bulbs convert electrical energy into heat and light gets measured in watts.  

What is Meant By Average Power?

Average power is considered the total energy that is consumed, and it is divided by the time that is taken. To put it in simple language, people can assume average power to be the average quantity of work that is accomplished or energy that is changed/unit of time.

More Information on Power

Work has no relation to the total amount of time which this force acts for causing the displacement. At times, work is accomplished very fast, whereas, at other times, this work is accomplished slowly. For instance, rock climbers take unusually long times to elevate their bodies up some meters along a cliff’s side. Contrarily, the trail hikers might end up elevating their bodies some meters in only some amount of time. 


These two people might do a similar amount of work, but the hikers do the work in remarkably less time in comparison to the rock climbers. Power depends on the work that is accomplished. Hence, when people do work at various rates, then their power too, differs at distinct times. And here only, the notion of average-power enters the scene.

What is Called Energy?

According to scientists, the capacity of doing work is called energy. Modern civilisation has become possible as people have learned the method of altering energy to different forms from only one form. After this, they use it for doing the work. People utilise their energy for bicycling and walking and moving cars along the roads. They also use energy for cooking food on stoves, moving boats through water, and making ice in freezers. When you wish to light your offices and homes and manufacture products, then you will require energy.

Different Kinds of Energy

There are different kinds of energy, and they are as follows:

  • Heat

  • Chemical

  • Light

  • Electrical

  • Motion

  • Gravitational


The forms of energy mentioned above can be classed into a couple of kinds of energy that is utilised to do work, and they are:

  • Working or kinetic energy

  • Stored or potential energy


You can change energy to different forms right from one form. For instance, when you eat food, then it comprises chemical energy. Your body will preserve this energy until you will utilize it in the form of kinetic energy at the time when you play or do any work. The preserved chemical energy in natural gas or coal or the kinetic energy of river waters can be changed to electrical energy. This energy, in turn, can be changed to heat and light.

How is Work Related to Energy? 

 Work and Energy Relation


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Work that is done is referred to according to the applied force, whereas energy is utilised according to other factors, like heat. Power is known as the work that is accomplished per unit of time.


The majority of the machines are intended to work on objects and every machine is commonly described by some power rating. This indicates the rate at which machines can work upon other objects. And so, a machine’s power is the time or work ratio for that specific machine. Hence, work, power and energy are inseparable entities. 

The Work Power Energy Formulas

Work

Definition

A work is done when people apply force to the object and that object moves

Formula

People can calculate work when they multiply the force through the object’s movement

Unit

Joule or J is the SI unit of work


Power

Definition

Power is recognised as the speed at which work is accomplished, which is energy is converted

Formula

P=W/t 

Unit

Watt or W is considered the SI unit of power


Energy

Definition

Energy is the capacity for doing any work

Formula

The formula of Energy is P.E.=mgh

Unit

Joule is the SI unit of energy. Joule is named for James Prescott Joule.


The summary on work, energy, and power are highly utilized terms in physics. Commonly, work, energy and power are the first things that people learn in their Physics class. Work and energy are viewed as a coin’s two sides. 


FAQs on Work, Power And Energy

1. What is renewable and nonrenewable energy?

There are several sources of energy and you can split them into a couple of categories:

  • Renewable energy–This is the source that you can replenish easily.

  • Non-renewable energy–This is a source that you can’t replenish easily.

Both renewable and non-renewable energy sources are utilized as chief energy sources for producing vital energy, like heat. Again, they can be utilized for producing secondary energy sources too, like hydrogen and electricity.

2. What are some types of equipment that are used for transforming energy?

Some equipment such as dynamo, microphone, candle, solar cell, loud speaker, electric bulb, Tube light, sitar, electric motor, battery etc. are utilized for transforming energy. Dynamo changes to electrical energy from mechanical energy, microphone changes to electrical energy from sound energy, candle changes to heat and light energy from chemical energy, solar cell changes to electrical energy from solar energy, loudspeaker changes to sound energy from electrical energy, electric bulb changes to heat and light energy from electrical energy, tube light changes to light energy from electrical energy, sitar changes to sound energy from mechanical energy, electric motor changes to motor energy from electric energy and battery Changes to electrical energy from chemical energy etc.

3. How does the total energy remain the same?

You can neither create nor destroy energy. The only thing that you can do is transform it to a different form from one form. Whenever you utilize energy in one form then you produce an equal amount of energy in other forms. So, the total energy remains unchanged and the same.