I am currently taking an Environmental Science course at a University
(because I've never had one, and the administration wants to know if I
can teach one in the Fall). In the text, and in the lectures, they
refer to energy transfer (heat, soloar radiation, ocean pump, etc.) in
units of W/m^2.
When I questioned the Professor teaching the class about the units
("Shouldn't energy units be in Joules?"), he was perplexed because he
had always referred to energy in these units of W/m^2. When I started
to mention power and intensity, his eyes started to glaze and he said
that I shouldn't worry about those things in this class; and that the
closeest we come to power is energy use discussions in kW-hr or BTU's.
Is it me, or is this just a bit screwed up? In any event, my questions
are:
1. Is there any other discipline where such units are used to refer to
energy and power?