Energy is used to make things move, light up, and heat up. It takes many forms, and it seems like we are always running out of it. But what exactly is energy? Does a gallon of gasoline have a lot of energy compared with a car battery or what can be obtained from a large solar cell or a windmill? This chapter will attempt to answer these questions, along with explaining how to calculate energy and power. When we put together these ideas of energy and power along with Newton’s laws and the equations of motion, we will have a very powerful set of tools for analyzing almost any type of mechanical motion (Figure 4.1).
FIGURE 4.1 Electrical power plant.
So, what exactly is energy?
Energy is defined by what it can ...
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