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Re: ENERGY WITH Q



Joel R wrote:

> Only three people that I know about are allowed to choose both
answers: they are John M, Joel R, and Gene M. John D has lots of
support here:

I probably shouldn't ask, but how did the three of us get special
dispensation?

You self-identified yourself. That's why I said "that I know about."
There may be lurkers on this list who also fall into this camp, but
they have not chimed in.

> As I have gone around my dept here at
> the Academy for example, my colleagues tell me they not only don't
teach pseudowork, they believe it's a confusing, heretical term in
> league with cold fusion, astrology, and such ilk.

Are they hostile the name or to the concept?

Definitely to the name.
As to the concept, I think they fall into two groups:

1. Those who have thought carefully about these issues. John D would
be a great example. I am confident that when (if?) he teaches
mechanics and thermo, he is lucid and self-consistent and has
developed alternate handouts, uses unusual texts, etc in place of
standard textbooks, because almost all standard texts use pseudowork
(without calling it that, of course - we're talking about the concept
now, not the name).

2. Those who unwittingly are inconsistent. They say they have nothing
to do with pseudowork, but they merrily integrate Newton's second law
and use it to solve problems involving work and energy even when the
objects in question clearly are not particles.

Carl, does this mean you are part of the 3% who do like psuedo-work; but you
don't like the name, using various ones of three names you proffered
instead?

Yes. The name I use depends on the level of the class. In an intro
non-majors course, the name I use is "work" because I follow the
texts. In a majors course, I alert the students that there are some
subtleties involved and we discuss them slowly over the course of the
term as they arise naturally.
--
Carl E. Mungan, Asst. Prof. of Physics 410-293-6680 (O) -3729 (F)
U.S. Naval Academy, Stop 9C, Annapolis, MD 21402-5026
mungan@usna.edu http://physics.usna.edu/physics/faculty/mungan/