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College Physics

Glossary

College PhysicsGlossary

basal metabolic rate: the total energy conversion rate of a person at rest

chemical energy: the energy in a substance stored in the bonds between atoms and molecules that can be released in a chemical reaction

conservation of mechanical energy: the rule that the sum of the kinetic energies and potential energies remains constant if only conservative forces act on and within a system

conservative force: a force that does the same work for any given initial and final configuration, regardless of the path followed

efficiency: a measure of the effectiveness of the input of energy to do work; useful energy or work divided by the total input of energy

electrical energy: the energy carried by a flow of charge

energy: the ability to do work

fossil fuels: oil, natural gas, and coal

friction: the force between surfaces that opposes one sliding on the other; friction changes mechanical energy into thermal energy

gravitational potential energy: the energy an object has due to its position in a gravitational field

horsepower: an older non-SI unit of power, with $1 hp = 746 W$

joule: SI unit of work and energy, equal to one newton-meter

kilowatt-hour: $(kW \cdot h)$ unit used primarily for electrical energy provided by electric utility companies

kinetic energy: the energy an object has by reason of its motion, equal to $\frac{1}{2} {mv}^{2}$ for the translational (i.e., non-rotational) motion of an object of mass $m$ moving at speed $v$

law of conservation of energy: the general law that total energy is constant in any process; energy may change in form or be transferred from one system to another, but the total remains the same

mechanical energy: the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy

metabolic rate: the rate at which the body uses food energy to sustain life and to do different activities

net work: work done by the net force, or vector sum of all the forces, acting on an object

nonconservative force: a force whose work depends on the path followed between the given initial and final configurations

nuclear energy: energy released by changes within atomic nuclei, such as the fusion of two light nuclei or the fission of a heavy nucleus

potential energy: energy due to position, shape, or configuration

potential energy of a spring: the stored energy of a spring as a function of its displacement; when Hooke’s law applies, it is given by the expression $\frac{1}{2} {kx}^{2}$ where $x$ is the distance the spring is compressed or extended and $k$ is the spring constant

power: the rate at which work is done

radiant energy: the energy carried by electromagnetic waves

renewable forms of energy: those sources that cannot be used up, such as water, wind, solar, and biomass

thermal energy: the energy within an object due to the random motion of its atoms and molecules that accounts for the object's temperature

useful work: work done on an external system

watt: (W) SI unit of power, with $1 W = 1 J/s$

work: the transfer of energy by a force that causes an object to be displaced; the product of the component of the force in the direction of the displacement and the magnitude of the displacement

work-energy theorem: the result, based on Newton’s laws, that the net work done on an object is equal to its change in kinetic energy

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- Authors: Paul Peter Urone, Roger Hinrichs
- Publisher/website: OpenStax
- Book title: College Physics
- Publication date: Jun 21, 2012
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/1-introduction-to-science-and-the-realm-of-physics-physical-quantities-and-units
- Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/7-glossary

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