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The ancient Greek understanding of physics was limited to the statics of simple machines (the balance of forces), and did not include dynamics or the concept of work. During the Renaissance the dynamics of the Mechanical Powers, as the simple machines were called, began to be studied from the standpoint of how far they could lift a load, in addition to the force they could apply, leading ...
Thermodynamic work is one of the principal kinds of process by which a thermodynamic system can interact with and transfer energy to its surroundings. This results in externally measurable macroscopic forces on the system's surroundings, which can cause mechanical work, to lift a weight, for example, [1] or cause changes in electromagnetic, [2] [3] [4] or gravitational [5] variables.
The work function depends on the configurations of atoms at the surface of the material. For example, on polycrystalline silver the work function is 4.26 eV, but on silver crystals it varies for different crystal faces as (100) face: 4.64 eV, (110) face: 4.52 eV, (111) face: 4.74 eV. [13] Ranges for typical surfaces are shown in the table below ...
Using the above proof, we know U e is well-defined and differentiable, and F e = −∇U e (from this formula we can use the gradient theorem to easily derive the well-known formula for calculating work done by conservative forces: W = −ΔU).
One of the fundamental thermodynamic equations is the description of thermodynamic work in analogy to mechanical work, or weight lifted through an elevation against gravity, as defined in 1824 by French physicist Sadi Carnot. Carnot used the phrase motive power for work.
Power is the rate with respect to time at which work is done; it is the time derivative of work: =, where P is power, W is work, and t is time. We will now show that the mechanical power generated by a force F on a body moving at the velocity v can be expressed as the product: P = d W d t = F ⋅ v {\displaystyle P={\frac {dW}{dt}}=\mathbf {F ...
The mathematical by-product of this calculation is the mass–energy equivalence formula, that mass and energy are essentially the same thing: [14]: 51 [15]: 121 = = At a low speed (v ≪ c), the relativistic kinetic energy is approximated well by the classical kinetic energy.
The work per unit of charge is defined as the movement of negligible test charge between two points, and is expressed as the difference in electric potential at those points. The work can be done, for example, by electrochemical devices (electrochemical cells) or different metals junctions [clarification needed] generating an electromotive force.