In physics, what is the difference between 'work', 'change' and 'proces'?
-
@mhier In my notes, energy is a ressource of a certain size (a scalar quantity) that can be used for work (any process that takes energy and cause some kind of change). If work and energy is synonymous, then how do you define it/them?
@malte
As I said it is used in slightly different context, still they describe the same physical quantity. Work is often used in the more dynamic context, when something is being moved, while energy is maybe more static. In university, we essentially never used work but always energy. Maybe the point is also that often "work" is used instead of "amount of work". So if you e. g. lift a body, you are doing work of e. g. 1 Joule, so you have used the energy of 1 Joule. -
@malte
As I said it is used in slightly different context, still they describe the same physical quantity. Work is often used in the more dynamic context, when something is being moved, while energy is maybe more static. In university, we essentially never used work but always energy. Maybe the point is also that often "work" is used instead of "amount of work". So if you e. g. lift a body, you are doing work of e. g. 1 Joule, so you have used the energy of 1 Joule.@malte
Maybe I am a bit biased by German language here. When I started to discuss about physics in English, it was just particle physics, where nobody talks about work. -
@malte
As I said it is used in slightly different context, still they describe the same physical quantity. Work is often used in the more dynamic context, when something is being moved, while energy is maybe more static. In university, we essentially never used work but always energy. Maybe the point is also that often "work" is used instead of "amount of work". So if you e. g. lift a body, you are doing work of e. g. 1 Joule, so you have used the energy of 1 Joule.@mhier If I get what you're saying, it sounds like work is sometimes used as a short-hand for the amount (energy) that it took to do the work. Is that right? I can see how that confuses things
-
@malte
Maybe I am a bit biased by German language here. When I started to discuss about physics in English, it was just particle physics, where nobody talks about work.@mhier It doesn't make it easier that I'm coming at it from an even more distant field and trying to see the similarities and differences between those fields. Getting a clearer idea of what 'work' means is high on my priorities and we're I come from, we use it all the time.
-
@mhier If I get what you're saying, it sounds like work is sometimes used as a short-hand for the amount (energy) that it took to do the work. Is that right? I can see how that confuses things
@malte
Exactly. And if you think about it, it is actually the same, in a sense. Physics is about quantities you can measure. -
@malte
Exactly. And if you think about it, it is actually the same, in a sense. Physics is about quantities you can measure.@mhier I can see that. The quantity of energy is the same quantity used in work. The concepts are different not in terms of quantity but quality! Energy is ressource, but work is a process. For me - who's not a physicist, but a practician in human matters - that makes all the difference.
-
@mhier I can see that. The quantity of energy is the same quantity used in work. The concepts are different not in terms of quantity but quality! Energy is ressource, but work is a process. For me - who's not a physicist, but a practician in human matters - that makes all the difference.
@malte
Yes and no. Work is the energy which "acts" in a process. It is the same concept, essentially. -
@malte
Yes and no. Work is the energy which "acts" in a process. It is the same concept, essentially.@mhier I find that statement contradictory. Two concepts can be similar (implying some difference), but cannot be the same if one is used to define the other. In your definition, work would be a specific kind of energy - energy which acts in a process. Do all kinds of energy work? That's a difference that makes a difference.
-
@mhier I find that statement contradictory. Two concepts can be similar (implying some difference), but cannot be the same if one is used to define the other. In your definition, work would be a specific kind of energy - energy which acts in a process. Do all kinds of energy work? That's a difference that makes a difference.
@malte
I didn't use one to define the other, I used one to explain why it is the same as the other
Doing work is the same as inputting energy. Same concept, different words. Yes, they are used in different context to simplify the understanding, but in principle you can interchange them. -
@malte
I didn't use one to define the other, I used one to explain why it is the same as the other Doing work is the same as inputting energy. Same concept, different words. Yes, they are used in different context to simplify the understanding, but in principle you can interchange them.@mhier Can work be in an unused state?
