Sir/Ma'am,
What is the exact difference between energy and work?
What is the exact difference between energy and work?
Energy is like a commodity; an economic analogy would be like money in your bank account. You can convert one form of energy into another. For example if you have a heavy suspended mass it has potential energy equal to EPotential = mgh, where m is its mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity and h is the height above ground. If you cut the cut the rope holding it up the mass will accelerate and potential energy will be converted into kinetic energy, EPotential(initial) = EKinetic(final) = mv2/2 where v is it's velocity when it hits the ground. In the economic model you can covert rupees into an equivalent amount of dollars or you can withdraw from the bank account and put the cash in your pocket. The total amounts of energy and economic values remain the same.
Work on the other hand is a specific form of energy transfer, one due to large-scale motions along the direction of an applied force. Work can either change the kinetic energy (e.g. when you press on a sliding block) or change the potential energy (e.g. when you lift a block).
Energy is like a commodity; an economic analogy would be like money in your bank account. You can convert one form of energy into another. For example if you have a heavy suspended mass it has potential energy equal to EPotential = mgh, where m is its mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity and h is the height above ground. If you cut the cut the rope holding it up the mass will accelerate and potential energy will be converted into kinetic energy, EPotential(initial) = EKinetic(final) = mv2/2 where v is it's velocity when it hits the ground. In the economic model you can covert rupees into an equivalent amount of dollars or you can withdraw from the bank account and put the cash in your pocket. The total amounts of energy and economic values remain the same.
Work on the other hand is a specific form of energy transfer, one due to large-scale motions along the direction of an applied force. Work can either change the kinetic energy (e.g. when you press on a sliding block) or change the potential energy (e.g. when you lift a block).
