What Is Energy?
An Answer Based on the Evolution of a Concept
Buch in deiner Nähe kaufen
Beschreibung
This book provides a solution to the problem with the energy concept. This problem manifests itself in the fact that physicists clearly diverge regarding the question of what energy is. Some define it but others state that we do not know what it is. Although this is a problem for physicists who need to explain the concept, it is not a problem for physics that can be solved by laboratory means. Penetrating into the origin of the notion of energy, this book offers a clear idea of what was discovered and what was invented to interpret the findings.
Following the development of the concept, it provides an explanation of the trends in contemporary textbooks. The author's repetition, in his "History and Philosophy of Physics Laboratory", of Joule’s famous experiment – the paddle wheel experiment – with a calorimeter as originally used by Joule and with a calorimeter as proposed in textbooks, is presented, yielding new insight into the phenomenon. Thus, science teachers andstudents will benefit from reading the book as well as historians, philosophers, students of the history and philosophy of science, and all who are interested in knowing about what it is that we call energy.
This book provides a solution to the problem with the energy concept. This problem manifests itself in the fact that physicists clearly diverge regarding the question of what energy is. Some define it but others state that we do not know what it is. Although this is a problem for physicists who need to explain the concept, it is not a problem for physics that can be solved by laboratory means. Penetrating into the origin of the notion of energy, this book offers a clear idea of what was discovered and what was invented to interpret the findings.
Following the development of the concept, it provides an explanation of the trends in contemporary textbooks. The author's repetition, in his "History and Philosophy of Physics Laboratory", of Joule’s famous experiment – the paddle wheel experiment – with a calorimeter as originally used by Joule and with a calorimeter as proposed in textbooks, is presented, yielding new insight into the phenomenon. Thus, science teachers andstudents will benefit from reading the book as well as historians, philosophers, students of the history and philosophy of science, and all who are interested in knowing about what it is that we call energy.
Presents a clear idea of the concept of energy by studying original experiments and theories Overcomes a longstanding problem for science teachers and students Aids all those interested in understanding energy, its origin, and its rapid and unlimited growth
Autor*in
Ricardo Lopes Coelho
Themen in »What Is Energy?«
The Concept of Energy The First Mechanical Equivalent of Heat Joule’s Experiments for Determining the Equivalent The Origin of the Laws of Thermodynamics The Cooling of the Earth and the End of Life Energy as a Substance Planck’s, Hertz’s and Poincaré’s Criticism of the Concept Energy in Natural, Social Sciences and Ethics The Principle of Equivalence Instead of Energy Conservation Trends in Contemporary Textbooks