Subtopic 1.

3 Energy, work, heat and power

Energy: In physics, energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object in order
to perform work on, or to heat the object. Energy has different meanings and definitions, related to the
idea of ​a capacity for doing work, to transform or set in motion something. The SI unit of energy is the
joule (J) or newton-meter (N * m).

It is one of those unfortunate scientific terms which is defined in terms of what it does, rather than
what it is. This is somewhat unsatisfactory, because most of us like to know what something is, not
just what it does. Unfortunately, a search of the worldwide web is unlikely to return any
understandable explanation of what energy is.

1
www.utcam.edu.mx © 2018 Universidad Tecnológica de Campeche. Derechos Reservados.
 Subtopic 1.3 Energy, work, heat and power
Work is the energy transferred to or from an object via the application of force along a displacement.
In its simplest form, it is often represented as the product of force and displacement. A force is said to
do positive work if (when applied) it has a component in the direction of the displacement of the point
of application. A force does negative work if it has a component opposite to the direction of the
displacement at the point of application of the force. In other words it is the energy required to move
something against a force. The SI unit of work is the joule (J).

2
www.utcam.edu.mx © 2018 Universidad Tecnológica de Campeche. Derechos Reservados.
 Subtopic 1.3 Energy, work, heat and power

3
www.utcam.edu.mx © 2018 Universidad Tecnológica de Campeche. Derechos Reservados.
 Subtopic 1.3 Energy, work, heat and power
Heat, energy that is transferred from one body to another as the result of a difference in temperature.
If two bodies at different temperatures are brought together, energy is transferred—i.e., heat flows—
from the hotter body to the colder. The effect of this transfer of energy usually, but not always, is an
increase in the temperature of the colder body and a decrease in the temperature of the hotter body.
A substance may absorb heat without an increase in temperature by changing from one physical state
(or phase) to another, as from a solid to a liquid (melting), from a solid to a vapour (sublimation), from
a liquid to a vapour (boiling), or from one solid form to another (usually called a crystalline transition).
The important distinction between heat and temperature (heat being a form of energy and
temperature a measure of the amount of that energy present in a body) was clarified during the 18th
and 19th centuries. The SI unit of heat is the joule (J).

4
www.utcam.edu.mx © 2018 Universidad Tecnológica de Campeche. Derechos Reservados.
 Subtopic 1.3 Energy, work, heat and power
Heat and work are two different ways of transferring energy from one system to another. The
distinction between Heat and Work is important in the field of thermodynamics. Heat is the transfer of
thermal energy between systems, while work is the transfer of mechanical energy between two
systems. This distinction between the microscopic motion (heat) and macroscopic motion (work) is
crucial to how thermodynamic processes work. Heat can be transformed into work and vice verse
(see mechanical equivalent of heat), but they aren't the same thing. The first law of thermodynamics
states that heat and work both contribute to the total internal energy of a system, but the second law
of thermodynamics limits the amount of heat that can be turned into work.

5
www.utcam.edu.mx © 2018 Universidad Tecnológica de Campeche. Derechos Reservados.
 Subtopic 1.3 Energy, work, heat and power
Power is the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred in a unit of time. Power is increased if
work is done faster or energy is transferred in less time. But the second law of thermodynamics limits
the amount of heat that can be turned into work. In the International System of Units, the unit of power
is the watt, equal to one joule per second.

The quantity work has to do with a force causing a displacement. Work has nothing to do with the
amount of time that this force acts to cause the displacement. Sometimes, the work is done very
quickly and other times the work is done rather slowly. For example, a rock climber takes an
abnormally long time to elevate her body up a few meters along the side of a cliff. On the other hand,
a trail hiker (who selects the easier path up the mountain) might elevate her body a few meters in a
short amount of time. The two people might do the same amount of work, yet the hiker does the work
in considerably less time than the rock climber. The quantity that has to do with the rate at which a
certain amount of work is done is known as the power. The hiker has a greater power rating than the
rock climber. Power is the rate at which work is done.

6
www.utcam.edu.mx © 2018 Universidad Tecnológica de Campeche. Derechos Reservados.