Power is a measure of how quickly work is performed or energy is transferred. It tells us how fast something uses or produces energy.
It is defined as the rate of doing work, and its standard unit is the watt (W), where:
- 1 watt = 1 joule/second
Key insights:
- If two machines do the same amount of work, the one that does it faster delivers more power.
- Power is crucial in real-world applications like engines, electrical devices, and mechanical systems.
Examples:
- A 100-watt light bulb converts 100 joules of electrical energy into light and heat every second.
- A human climbing stairs quickly uses more power than climbing slowly, even if the total work is the same.
Power helps compare efficiency and performance, making it a central concept in both physics and engineering.