
17th-May-2008, 05:12 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,142
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LMagic007
Not so, as that does not prove that energy cannot be instantaneous. Instantaneous wind gust is a common meteorological term and that gust contains energy. Therefore energy can be instantaneous, even if not fitting with common electrical energy equations.
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Actually, it does not accord with any equations. Energy can not be instantaneous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LMagic007
Energy can be released in under 1 second and greater than zero seconds ( being the passage of time ). Energy can thus be instantaneous.
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I think maybe therein is the crux of the matter.
Call the period or passage of time p.
For 0<p<1 as you suggest, p is a finite value. It could, for example, 0.5s, that being the passage of time. That isn't instantaneous.
Going back to your comment in post #35
"Fundamentally speaking, a unit of power (Watt) is equivalent to a unit of energy (Joule) over a unit of time (Second)"
That gives us:
W=J/s
And that gives us the more fundamental definition:
Power is the RATE of doing work. It could be Nm/s, ft-lbf/s, kW etc.
(That applies whether it is electrical, mechanical, or fluid power.)
The rate of doing work.
Energy is what you get from that rate of work over a period of time. No time, no energy.
One kWh can be generated in an hour, a week, or 1ms (1ms being 3.6GW)
But not instantaneously.
An analogy that may be helpful......
Suppose that you drive at a rate of 60kph.
Travel for an hour you do 60km
In a minute, 1km
In a second, 17m
In 1ms, 17mm.
In other words, the rate at which you travel (instantaneous speed) tells you nothing about the distance you will cover unless you define time period. You can't instantly cover 50m.
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