Power (physics)

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For other types of power, see Power (disambiguation).

Common symbols

SI unit

watt

Classical mechanics

Second law of motion

History

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In physics, power is the rate of doing work. It is equivalent to an amount ofenergy consumed per
unit time. In the SI system, the unit of power is the jouleper second (J/s), known as the watt in honor
of James Watt, the eighteenth-century developer of the steam engine.
The integral of power over time defines the work performed. Because this integral depends on the
trajectory of the point of application of the force and torque, this calculation of work is said to be path
dependent.
As a physical concept, power requires both a change in the physical universe and a specified time in
which the change occurs. This is distinct from the concept of work, which is only measured in terms
of a net change in the state of the physical universe. The same amount of work is done when
carrying a load up a flight of stairs whether the person carrying it walks or runs, but more power is
needed for running because the work is done in a shorter amount of time.
The output power of an electric motor is the product of the torque that the motor generates and the
angular velocity of its output shaft. The power involved in moving a vehicle is the product of the

traction force of the wheels and the velocity of the vehicle. The rate at which a light bulb converts
electrical energy into light and heat is measured in wattsthe higher the wattage, the more power,
or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit time. [1][2]
Contents
[hide]

1 Units

2 Average power

3 Mechanical power
3.1 Mechanical advantage

4 Electrical power

5 Peak power and duty cycle

6 See also

7 References

Units[edit]

Ansel Adams photograph of electrical wires of the Boulder Dam Power Units, 19411942

The dimension of power is energy divided by time. The SI unit of power is the watt(W), which is
equal to one joule per second. Other units of power include ergs per second
(erg/s), horsepower (hp), metric horsepower (Pferdestrke (PS) or cheval vapeur, CV), and footpounds per minute. One horsepower is equivalent to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute, or the power
required to lift 550 pounds by one foot in one second, and is equivalent to about 746 watts. Other
units include dBm, a relative logarithmic measure with 1 milliwatt as reference; (food) calories per
hour (often referred to as kilocalories per hour); Btu per hour (Btu/h); and tons of refrigeration(12,000
Btu/h).

Average power[edit]

As a simple example, burning a kilogram of coal releases much more energy than does detonating a
kilogram of TNT,[3] but because the TNT reaction releases energy much more quickly, it delivers far
more power than the coal. If W is the amount of work performed during a period of time of duration
t, the average power Pavg over that period is given by the formula

It is the average amount of work done or energy converted per unit of time. The average power
is often simply called "power" when the context makes it clear.
The instantaneous power is then the limiting value of the average power as the time interval
t approaches zero.

In the case of constant power P, the amount of work performed during a period of
duration T is given by:

In the context of energy conversion, it is more customary to use the symbol E rather
than W.

Mechanical power[edit]
Power in mechanical systems is the combination of forces and movement. In particular,
power is the product of a force on an object and the object's velocity, or the product of a
torque on a shaft and the shaft's angular velocity.
Mechanical power is also described as the time derivative of work. In mechanics,
the work done by a force F on an object that travels along a curve C is given by the line
integral:

where x defines the path C and v is the velocity along this path.
If the force F is derivable from a potential (conservative), then applying the gradient
theorem (and remembering that force is the negative of the gradient of the potential
energy) yields:

where A and B are the beginning and end of the path along which the work was
done.
The power at any point along the curve C is the time derivative

In one dimension, this can be simplified to:

In rotational systems, power is the product of the torque and angular

velocity ,

where measured in radians per second. The represents scalar

product.
In fluid power systems such as hydraulic actuators, power is given
by

where p is pressure in pascals, or N/m2 and Q is volumetric

flow rate in m3/s in SI units.

Mechanical advantage[edit]
If a mechanical system has no losses, then the input power
must equal the output power. This provides a simple formula
for the mechanical advantage of the system.
Let the input power to a device be a force FA acting on a point
that moves with velocity vA and the output power be a
forceFB acts on a point that moves with velocity vB. If there are
no losses in the system, then

and the mechanical advantage of the system (output force

per input force) is given by

The similar relationship is obtained for rotating

systems, where TA and A are the torque and angular
velocity of the input and TB and B are the torque and
angular velocity of the output. If there are no losses in
the system, then

which yields the mechanical advantage

These relations are important because they

define the maximum performance of a device
in terms of velocity ratiosdetermined by its
physical dimensions. See for example gear
ratios.

Electrical power[edit]
Main article: Electric power

The instantaneous electrical power P delivered

to a component is given by

where
P(t) is the instantaneous power, measured in watts (joules per second)
V(t) is the potential difference (or voltage drop) across the component, measured in volts
I(t) is the current through it, measured in amperes
If the component is
a resistor with timeinvariant voltage to current rati
o, then:

where

is the resistance,
measured in ohms.

Peak power
and duty
cycle[edit]

In a train of identical
pulses, the
instantaneous power
is a periodic function
of time. The ratio of
the pulse duration to
the period is equal to
the ratio of the

average power to the

peak power. It is also
called the duty cycle
(see text for
definitions).

In the case of a
periodic signal
of period , like a
train of identical
pulses, the
instantaneous
power
is
also a periodic
function of period .
Thepeak power is
simply defined by:
.
The peak power
is not always
readily
measurable,
however, and the
measurement of
the average
power
is
more commonly
performed by an
instrument. If one
defines the
energy per pulse
as:

then the
average
power is:

.
One may
define
the pulse
length

such
that
so that
the ratios

are
equal
.
Thes
e
ratios
are
calle
d
the d
uty
cycle
of the
pulse
train.

See
als
o[ed
it]

S
i
m
p
l
e
m
a
c
h
i
n
e
s

M
e
c
h
a
n
i
c
a
l
a
d
v
a
n
t
a
g
e

M
o
ti
v
e
p
o
w
e
r

O
r
d
e
r

s
o
f
m
a
g
n
it
u
d
e
(
p
o
w
e
r)

P
u
l
s
e
d
p
o
w
e
r

I
n
t
e
n
s

it
y

i
n
t
h
e
r
a
d
i
a
ti
v
e
s
e
n
s
e
,
p
o
w
e
r
p
e
r
a
r
e
a

P
o
w
e
r
g
a
i
n

f
o
r
li
n
e
a
r,
t
w
o
p
o
rt
n
e
t
w
o
r
k
s
.

P
o
w
e
r
d
e
n
s
it
y

S
i
g
n
a
l
s
tr
e
n
g
t
h

S
o
u
n
d
p
o
w
e
r

Ref
ere
nce
s[edi
t]
1. J
u
m
p
u
p
^
H
a
ll
i
d
a
y
a
n
d
R
e
s
n
i
c
k
(
1
9
7
4

)
.
"
6
.
P
o
w
e
r
"
.
F
u
n
d
a
m
e
n
t
a
l
s
o
f
P
h
y
s
i
c
s
.

2. J
u
m
p
u
p
^
C
h
a
p
t
e
r
1
3
,

3
,
p
p
1
3
2
,
3
T
h
e
F
e
y

n
m
a
n
L
e
c
t
u
r
e
s
o
n
P
h
y
s
i
c
s
V
o
l
u
m
e
I,
1
9
6
3

3. J
u
m
p
u
p
^
B
u
r
n
i
n
g
c
o
a
l
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
s
a
r
o
u
n
d
1
5
-

3
0
m
e
g
a
j
o
u
l
e
s
p
e
r
k
il
o
g
r
a
m
,
w
h
il
e
d
e
t
o
n
a
ti
n
g

T
N
T
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
s
a
b
o
u
t
4
.
7
m
e
g
a
j
o
u
l
e
s
p
e
r
k
il
o

g
r
a
m
.
F
o
r
t
h
e
c
o
a
l
v
a
l
u
e
,
s
e
e
F
i
s
h
e
r,
J
u
li
y
a
(

2
0
0
3
)
.
"
E
n
e
r
g
y
D
e
n
s
it
y
o
f
C
o
a
l"
.
T
h
e
P
h
y
s
i
c

s
F
a
c
t
b
o
o
k
.
R
e
t
ri
e
v
e
d
3
0
M
a
y
2
0
1
1
.
F
o
r
t
h
e
T
N

T
v
a
l
u
e
,
s
e
e
t
h
e
a
r
ti
c
l
e
T
N
T
e
q
u
i
v
a
l
e
n
t.
T
h

e
c
o
a
l
v
a
l
u
e
d
o
e
s
n
o
t
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
t
h
e
w
e
i
g
h
t
o
f
o

x
y
g
e
n
u
s
e
d
d
u
ri
n
g
c
o
m
b
u
s
ti
o
n
,
w
h
il
e
t
h
e
T
N
T
n

u
m
b
e
r
if
T
N
T
o
n
l
y
.

Linear/tra

time:
s t

displaceme

frequency:f
s1, Hz

speed: v,m

accele
m

jem

mass:
kg m

momentum
kg m

force:
kgF,m

kg ya
m

Cate
gorie
s:
Conc

epts
in
physi
cs
Powe
r
(phys
ics)