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Delve into the fundamentals of work, power, and energy in physics, exploring the role of machines in multiplying force and the various forms and conservation of energy. Understand how real machines operate, the relationships between work and energy, and the significance of conservation laws. Gain insights into the different types of energy and the impact of resistive forces on mechanical energy. Enhance your knowledge of these essential concepts and their applications in the physical world.
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Physics 201 Lecture 6 Work, Power, and Energy
Machines and the definition of work • The purpose of a mechanical machine is to multiply an input force to create a much larger force for useful work • This mechanical advantage is gained by increasing the displacement over which the force is applied • This motivates defining work as the product of displace-ment and component of force driving the displacement • Though both force and displacement are vectors, work is not – in order to account for direction we have Is this work or weight?If they both appear in a problem, substitute mg for weight and use W for work
Real machines and real work • In any real machine there are frictional effects that limit its efficiency: • The rate at which work is done is called power – a more powerful machine will perform work faster • Work does not always mean what it does in English • Work is not synonymous with effort • Work does not involve time • Work can be negative
The energy level of a system represents its ability to do work • Work done on an internal conservative force is released when the system returns to the original configuration • This is why potential energy depends on the configuration of the system rather than the means whereby it is rearranged • But friction opposes motion – it always does negative work
Work can create energy in three different ways KineticEnergy Creates motion (linear or rotation) Work PotentialEnergy Displacement from equilibrium HeatEnergy Temperature or phase change
When driving from equilibrium, work creates potential energy • Potential energy is work against the internal forces of the system • Potential energy ultimately depends on the internal configuration of the system • Different forces will involve different values of potential energy…
Conservation of energy • Many consider this to be the most important principle in physics • The key to use energy is to find a moment in time in which you know the total energy of the system • If there are no external forces, the total energy is always the same
Resistive forces destroy mechanical energy • Work done on an internal conservative force is released when the system returns to the original configuration • This is why potential energy depends on the configuration of the system rather than the means whereby it is rearranged • But friction opposes motion – it always does negative work