Re: Introducing WORK

[Ludwik Kowalski <kowalskiL@Mail.Montclair.edu>]

Chuck Britton wrote:
> I like to think that WORK is a PROCESS of converting Energy
> from one form to another. ....

Sure, but work is also a "physical quantity" associated with a process,
not the process itself. Wind interacting with the sail of a moving boat,

for example, is a process, work is one of many physical quantities
associated with it. Other quantities are time, displacement, viscosity,
temperature, buoyant force, reflectivity, etc. The same is true for
other processes, such as magnet working on a toy, you climbing a hill
or her pushing a box.

Having a different name for a process, as opposed to names of
physical quantities, is desirable, in my opinion. Perhaps mechanical
processes will one day be described without using work but at this
time we introduce work to students before we introduce energy.
I can not use work-energy theorem before the concept of kinetic
energy is defined as a quantity expressed in Joules. Well, I am now
referring to Rick's message.

Ludwik Kowalski