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Work (energy) = force x distance

Let's say I have a door on my house that's 1 meter from the hinges to the door knob. If I have to apply 50 newtons of force to the door knob to open the door, I've applied 50 Newton-meters (Joules) of work, or energy.

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This applies only if you 'opened' the door a distance (around the arc) of 1 meter along the path of the force. Be careful here or people will miss the relationship between:

force x distance (linear)

and

torque x rotation (angular, with the requirement to convert angles to radians for the units to come out nicely)

Rory
Rory Johnson | 08.06.05 - 9:06 pm | #