Electric Car Debate

[roger]

What ever the source of power is, be it fossil, static, or gravity, it is present in any torque or pressure moving or stalled, this is the case even if I am looking at it in Laymans terminology.

Roger

 

[dereckbc]

Wind or hydroelectric power might make it feasible as well.

Wind will never be cost competitive, and hydro is already built out operating at max capacity. No more rivers left to damn up or land available for the lakes.

 

[winnie]

What ever the source of power is, be it fossil, static, or gravity, it is present in any torque or pressure moving or stalled, this is the case even if I am looking at it in Laymans terminology.

Roger

Agreed that this is the case in lay terminology.

In the technical use in physics, what you are describing is stored _energy_. When that energy is released, then the rate of its release is power.

A 'powerful' spring (lay terminology) sitting there cocked and ready to cut someone's hand off is _not_ releasing any energy, and not doing any work, and is at a power level of _zero_ until the spring is released. The _force_ may be tremendously, but no work is being done, no power released. As soon as that spring is released, then the power level is _very_ high for an instant, and then the power level again falls to zero, along with the force.

-Jon

 

[dereckbc]

Jon, I think a coiled spring like a catapault is POTENTIAL ENERGY.
Forms of Potential energy are:
Gravitational
Elastic
Chemical
Nuclear
Thermal
Ect.

 

[rattus]

What ever the source of power is, be it fossil, static, or gravity, it is present in any torque or pressure moving or stalled, this is the case even if I am looking at it in Laymans terminology.

Roger

Roger, that is OK when talking with laymen, but our members are not laymen.

If you said energy is present, you would be correct, but power is never present; that would be like saying speed is present.