We are on to a new lesson, this one is about work and energy. In the physics world the term work is a little different then I thought it was going to be. Work is any change in energy, it equals the force multiplied by the distance, the units for work are called a joule. Like momentum there is also a Law of Conservation of Energy, it states that energy cannot be created or destroyed it will only change forms. To make matters even more confusing there are different types of energy. There is gravitational potential energy which is the energy an object has due to its position in a gravitational field. Then there is kinetic energy, that is the energy of motion. Finally there is Spring Potential Energy, this one is the most confusing. While learning about springs we learned about the elastic limit, or the most a spring can stretch before it is deformed. Lastly there is power or the rate at which work is done, and its units are called watts.
This is a picture of my family at Alamoana beach. We had to stand there and hold up those boards, at somewhat of an awkward back angle, for quite some time before we finally got a nice picture. To me it felt like a lot of work because the board was heavy and it was not a comfortable position. However in the physics world I was doing no work, because I was not moving. If I had been carrying the board to go jump in the water then I would be doing work because I would be covering some distance.
I like how you used an example that showed something most people would consider "work," and then related it to how it actually ISN'T work in the physics world! :)
ReplyDeleteWay to be original and give us an example of something that isn't work, but also an unoriginal title! No offense I used this title too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dmench, but I like the title! Anyway, I like that you showed the difference between what's doing work, and not doing work.
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