Power (physics)

In physics, power is the rate at which work is performed or energy is converted. It is an energy
per unit of time. As a rate of change of work done or the energy of a subsystem, power is

where P is power, W is work and t is time.

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

When the rate of energy conversion is constant, this is simplified to

,
where W and E are, respectively, the work done or energy converted in time t.

[edit] Units
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. Non-SI units of power include ergs per second (erg/s),
horsepower (hp), metric horsepower (Pferdestärke (PS) or cheval vapeur, CV), and foot-pounds
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).
[edit] Mechanical power
In mechanics, the work done on an object is related to the forces acting on it by

where
F is force
Δd is the displacement of the object.
This is often summarized by saying that work is equal to the force acting on an object times its
displacement (how far the object moves while the force acts on it). Note that only motion that is
along the same axis as the force "counts", however; motion in the same direction as force gives
positive work, and motion in the opposite direction gives negative work, while motion
perpendicular to the force yields zero work.
Differentiating by time gives that the instantaneous power is equal to the force times the object's
velocity v(t):

.
The average power is then

.
This formula is important in characterizing engines—the power output of an engine is equal to
the force it exerts multiplied by its velocity.
In rotational systems, power is related to the torque (τ) and angular velocity (ω):

.
Or

The average power is therefore

.
In systems with fluid flow, power is related to pressure, p and volumetric flow rate, Q:

where
p is pressure (in pascals, or N/m2 in SI units)
Q is volumetric flow rate (in m3/s in SI units)
[edit] Electrical power
Main article: Electric power
[edit] Instantaneous electrical power
The instantaneous electrical power P delivered to a component is given by

where
P(t) is the instantaneous power, measured in watts (joules over 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, then:

where

is the resistance, measured in ohms.

If the component is reactive (e.g. a capacitor or an inductor), then the instantaneous power is
negative when the component is giving stored energy back to its environment, i.e., when the
current and voltage are of opposite signs.
[edit] Average electrical power for sinusoidal voltages
The average power consumed by a sinusoidally-driven linear two-terminal electrical device is a
function of the root mean square (rms) values of the voltage across the terminals and the current
through the device, and of the phase angle between the voltage and current sinusoids. That is,

where
P is the average power, measured in watts
I is the root mean square value of the sinusoidal alternating current (AC), measured in
amperes
V is the root mean square value of the sinusoidal alternating voltage, measured in volts
is the phase angle between the voltage and the current sine functions.
The amplitudes of sinusoidal voltages and currents, such as those used almost universally in
mains electrical supplies, are normally specified in terms of root mean square values. This makes
the above calculation a simple matter of multiplying the two stated numbers together.
This figure can also be called the effective power, as compared to the larger apparent power
which is expressed in volt-amperes (VA) and does not include the cos φ term due to the current
and voltage being out of phase. For simple domestic appliances or a purely resistive network, the
cos φ term (called the power factor) can often be assumed to be unity, and can therefore be
omitted from the equation. In this case, the effective and apparent power are assumed to be
equal.
[edit] Average electrical power for AC

Where v(t) and i(t) are, respectively, the instantaneous voltage and current as functions of time.
For purely resistive devices, the average power is equal to the product of the rms voltage and rms
current, even if the waveforms are not sinusoidal. The formula works for any waveform, periodic
or otherwise, that has a mean square; that is why the rms formulation is so useful.
For devices more complex than a resistor, the average effective power can still be expressed in
general as a power factor times the product of rms voltage and rms current, but the power factor
is no longer as simple as the cosine of a phase angle if the drive is non-sinusoidal or the device is
not linear.
[edit] Peak power and duty cycle

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 s(t) of period T, like a train of identical pulses, the instantaneous
power p(t) = | s(t) | 2 is also a periodic function of period T. The peak power is simply defined by:
P0 = max(p(t)).
The peak power is not always readily measurable, however, and the measurement of the average
power Pavg 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 τ such that P0τ = εpulse so that the ratios
are equal. These ratios are called the duty cycle of the pulse train.
[edit] Power in optics
Main article: Optical power
In optics, or radiometry, the term power sometimes refers to radiant flux, the average rate of
energy transport by electromagnetic radiation, measured in watts. The term "power" is also,
however, used to express the ability of a lens or other optical device to focus light. It is measured
in dioptres (inverse metres), and equals the inverse of the focal length of the optical device.

Bottom of Form

Bottom of Form
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Real and Apparent

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Real Image
 Introduction

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