LOL, neolib gets it wrong again.
"Heat" and "Work" are both "Energy", hence measured in Joules. Watts and Horse Power are Power not Energy. Power = Energy/unit time. Slight difference, but rather important.
Heat is energy, work is not. Until you know the difference I suggest you refrain from posting and avoid embarrassment.
Work is energy transferred by mechanical means
Close but not a correct definition, you describe mechanical work which is usually the type of work used. Work is simply the transfer of energy without entropy. Work is usually measured as a rate which is power though it need not be. Watts is the usual SI unit, though I believe there is the metric horsepower. I preferred the SI units in college but since then I have had to use English units.
BTW, does "Heat Transfer" ever strike you as odd terminology? It always has me, because the technical definition of "Heat" is that it is energy transferred by thermal gradients. Hence "Heat" implies transfer, so Heat Transfer seems redundant.
Redundant or not that is the correct name of a scientific and engineering topic older than thermodynamics. Thermodynamics does not cover heat transfer except as conversion to work or other forms of energy. That is why pure heat transfered without performing work or energy change is covered in a separate topic which explains things like conduction through materials, evaporation, mass transfer, radiation, etc. as Heat Transfer.
Look it up in Wikipedia and other sources if you like. Heat Transfer is not a branch of Thermodynamics. Heat transfer is older when heat was once thought of as an element. Some elements of thermodynamics have caused changes in Heat Transfer, but my professor was adamant that it is a separate study. We studied classical thermodynamics the first quarter, then systems thermodynamics the second and third quarters, and then heat transfer. We had another quarter which put this together in practical problem solving. There were also a courses which used thermodynamics to solve refrigeration problems and design refrigeration systems. As well as one oriented to designing engines. Many years ago. |
