What is Energy?

Hi again,
     So, lets try this "more frequent smaller posts" I was talking about.   Ok, I fail just a tad with the "smaller" part. I've actually been writing this over a few days so the "smaller" is perhaps referring to my end of writing this blog in smaller chunks "more frequently".


     So very early on freshman year of college in physics EGR160  at YCP.  We became very familiar with engineering mechanics. We learned that a vector has a direction and a magnitude and it can be represented on an x-y-z  plane.  Commonly in the class it was just the x and y plane of the 2-D paper we wrote on.  Vectors are usually denoted with an arrow over their symbol, but I cant do that here in this text editor. Vectors will then have components of x , y, and z usually denoted by a subscript. The components describes the magnitude in a certain direction.  Displacement (d, in meters, feet, inches, etc.) is the most fundamental vector as there is a direction and magnitude.

    Now lets talk calculus.  Calculus is the study of change.  You have the derivative and the integral as the 2 major branches of calculus.   The derivative, part of Differential Calculus  is the study of the rate of change of quantities.  The integral, part of Integral Calculus  can be thought of the anti-derivative, but it is also the summation of the area bounded by a function and the x axis of the x-y axis.  Pick up a calculus book or take a class for more information about Calculus. This is where I get off.


    So, the derivative (the rate of change) of displacement is velocity (v in meters/second, feet/minutes, miles/hour, etc) or "how fast" something moves either at an instant or as an average over some time interval, depending on how you measure it (usually instantaneous).  Velocity has direction, so it is a vector as well. Speed on the oher hand is not a vector, it is a scalar as it doesn't have direction (commonly found on your car's dashboard).  DO NOT CONFUSE VELOCITY WITH SPEED!!!  The derivative of Velocity is Acceleration (a in m/s^2) or "how fast" velocity changes, which is also a vector.


    The "Force" (not of the Luke Skywalker kind) is another fundamental vector in physics.  Force (F in Newtons (kg*m/s^2)) is mass (m in kilograms) times acceleration (a).  F=ma is the equation for force (I bet you have seen this equation before, but din't know what it was, now you know).


   Work on the other hand, is not a vector, but a scalar (just a quantity, without a direction), which is energy.  Work is a Force over a Distance: W=Fd or Wx= Fdcos Θ (work along the x-axis) is the equation for work from a constant force. The Θ is an angle (Greek letter theta).  Energy is described as a joule (j or kg m^2/s^2).


  So that is a very very short crash course in physics.  If you want to learn more.  Google, textbook, classes, etc.  are all valid place to learn more.


  Next up is a crash course in electricity!


  Enjoy! Please Subscribe and comment so I know that this is worth writing!

New Beginning

Hello All,

    I am re-purposing this blog formerly known as "Uncommon Knowledge".  The 3 posts I did write will still be part of this blog for 2 reasons: 1) Nostalgia, 2) Energy Conservation (or laziness if you so prefer).  Anyway, from this point forward, this blog will be "Energy Tinkerer".  My plan with this new direction is to provide a repository for any write ups of my personal experiments and exploration in the world of energy as well as teach the readers about energy.

   

   Energy is a fundamental "thing" in this universe.  Energy comes in a variety of forms (Mechanical, Electrical, Biological, Thermal, Chemical, etc.). Energy is simply a scalar (just a value without direction; i.e. not a vector) that describes the state of an object.

    So why its this blog about energy?  Well  I honestly didn't want to constrain myself too much as energy is such a broad topic.  I will say I predict I will be biased towards electrical energy of the alternative electricity generation variety, but even that is very broad.

   So, That is it for this post. I predict that this blog will not be a very super active one, but I hope to keep writing in in in smaller chunks on a more frequent basis than before.

   If you find me and my writing interesting, please become a follower of the post so I know people are reading this.

Cheers!