What is the relationship between energy and work?

What is the relationship between energy and work?
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What is the Relation Between Work and Energy?

Energy must be transferred to an object to help it move, and the energy can be transferred in the form of force. The energy transferred by force to move any object is known as work or work done. Therefore, work and energy have a direct relationship. The difference in the kinetic energy of an object is called work done by the object. Work and energy are common terms in Physics and can be considered two sides of a coin. This article is necessary to state the relationship between work and energy.

What is Work and Energy ?

Work

When a force causes motion, work is said to done. A person climbing a flight of stairs is an illustration of this. Because he is moving against the force of gravity, the person has done work in this case. Any force's work is influenced by a number of factors. The distance the body moves in the direction of the force is one of the elements. The force is the second factor. Work is defined as the product of a body's displacement and force in the direction of the force. Work equals F*S, where F stands for force and S stands for distance. Work is equal to FS Cosθ when a body is displaced by a distance with a force operating on it.

Work = force × displacement towards the force

Energy

When you play for a long term or do quite a little physical work at your own home or out of doors you get tired, i.e., your body indicates unwillingness or reluctance towards similar play or work. at the moment you could also experience hunger. After taking a rest for some time or/ and eating something you may once more be ready for work. How does one provide an explanation for those experiences? In reality, when you do work, you expend strength and extra energy is needed to do extra work. The capability of a body to do work is decided by the energy possessed with the aid of it. i.e., 

The energy possessed with the aid of a body = overall work that the body can do. Energy has the same unit as work, i.e., joule denoted by means of J. however, conversion of 100% of energy might not usually be doable, because, within the process of conversion of energy into work a few energy may additionally remain unused or can be wasted. 

Relation between Work and Energy

The capacity to do work is referred as energy. This refers to the force that one thing will put on another object in order to displace it and cause a change in its location. Work is defined as the action of displacing an object by exerting a particular amount of force on it. One would expect a shift in position as a result of doing so. The rate at which work is completed or the amount of work completed per unit of time is referred to as power.

Based on these criteria, it is safe to conclude that energy is a fundamental requirement for completing work. The amount of work completed in a given time period is referred to as power. Work, on the other hand, is the action required to change the object's location. To do work, you require energy, and power is the rate at which you can do work, whereas energy is the capacity to accomplish work.

Work and energy are related to each other i.e, with an increase in work results increase in energy, or vice versa. Work done can be explained mathematically by:

\[W = \frac{1}{2}mv^{2}_{f} - \frac{1}{2}mv^{2}_{i}\]

in which,

  • W is the work achieved through an object in terms of Joules.

  • m is the mass of the object measured in terms  of kilograms.

  • vi is the initial velocity in  m/s. 

  • Vf is the final velocity of an object measured by the usage of m/s.

Hence, the work-energy theorem states that total work done by the net force on an object is equal to change in its kinetic strength.

Energy and work are so related that many people take them to mean the same thing. But they are not. Or are they really the same? 🤔

Have you ever tried to kick a ball with your leg? Well, if you have, that is some work done right there. And, do you know what makes that work done possible? Yeah, you guessed right. It is energy.

Work and energy are different in some ways and similar in other ways. So, to get a clear picture of how they relate, let’s get a hang on what they are individually about.

What is Work?

In ordinary terms, work is simply the force applied on an object or body through a distance. Like, when you open a door with your hand, you are using the force from your hand to move the door over a distance (horizontal distance). Or when you use your hand to lift an object from the ground, your hand is applying force to lift the object over a distance (vertical distance).

In scientific terms, work is the force that is used and is sufficient enough to move an object against resistance. In other words, for work to be done on an object, force applied on the object must overcome a resistance (opposing force).

For example, for you to lift an object up from the floor, the force you apply to lift it up must overcome the gravitational force holding it down. It is when the object has been lifted up that work is done.

Another example is when you try to push a block across a surface. For work to be done, the force you apply to move the block must overcome the opposing frictional force.

In physics, work is not just merely force applied on an object through a distance. it is more than that. Just because a force is applied to a body or object doesn’t mean a work is done.

According to the work-energy theorem, work is only done on an object when its kinetic energy changes.  That is, when a force moves an object from point A to B, the work is done on the object if the kinetic energy of the object changes. And this kinetic energy change is only possible when some components of the applied force are in the direction or opposite direction to the motion of the object.

For example, when you are lifting an object up, work is done because your force is pulling the object up, in the opposite direction to the gravitational force pulling it down.

NOTE: When you are holding an object up, you are not doing any work. The work had already been done while you were lifting the object up.

So, in physics, Work can, explicitly, be defined as the measure of energy change that occurs on an object, as a result of a force applied in the direction or opposite direction to the motion of the object.

Work would happen when a force is applied. And this force is possible only when there is energy.

In essence, without energy, no work can be done. So, what is energy?

Key Points: Work can simply be defined as the force applied to an object over a distance. The kinetic-energy theory defines work done as the change in the kinetic energy of a body.

What is Energy?

The most common definition is: energy is the capacity or ability for a body to do work. Yeah, it simply means that for work to be done, energy must be available. For example, for you to push a door with your hand, you must use energy. That is, you need energy in your body to provide that force to push the door.

Get a comprehensive look at energy here.

Key Points: Energy is the capability of a body or object to perform work.

The Work-Energy Theorem

The relationship between work done and energy is very well explained by the work-energy theorem. The work-energy theorem states that the work done on an object is equal to the change in the kinetic energy of that object.

Now, let’s prove this theorem.

First off, kinetic energy is simply the energy possessed by a body in motion. That is, when an object moves, it exhibits kinetic energy. It is represented by KE = mv2/2, where m is the mass of the object (in Kg) and v is the velocity (in m/s).

Now, consider an object with an initial velocity, u. If a force, F is applied to the object, the object is displaced through a distance, s, and undergoes an acceleration, a. Thus, a new velocity, v, is created. Putting this in form of an equation of motion, we have: v2 = u2 + 2as ——- (1)

The equation (1) can be re-written as: v2 – u2 = 2as ——– (2)

Multiply the equation (2) by mass, m

That will give mv2 – mu2 = 2mas ——– (3)

Dividing all through by 2, we get: mv2/2 – mu2/2 = mas ——– (4)

Work done = Force * distance = F * s = ma *s = mas

Here, Force, F is the net force.

Replacing ‘mas’ in equation 4 with work done will give: mv2/2 – mu2/2 = Work done ——– (5)

From equation 5, mv2/2 – mu2/2 means the change in the kinetic energy of the object.

And this change in kinetic energy of the object is equal to work done by the Force.

So, Work done = Change in Kinetic Energy (proved)

Key Points: Work-Energy Theorem: Work Done = Change in Kinetic energy

Why Work and Energy are Measured in Joules?

Work and energy have the same standard unit which is Joules. And this is because work done is perceived to be energy in use. Also, the work-energy theorem has proven work done to be equal to change in kinetic energy. Thereby, the same units

Are Work and Energy Really the Same?

Energy is pretty broad as it comes in different types. But, there is just one type of work.

Energy is what leads to work while work is a result of the availability of energy.

Energy and work have more like a cause and effect relationship. Energy is what causes work to be done while work is the effect of what the energy can do.

So, is work and energy really the same? I don’t think so. But are they related? Of course, they are.

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