Average mechanical power measures how quickly work is transferred over a time interval.
Difficulty
Beginner
Read time
5 min
Prerequisites
Basic algebra and consistent SI units
Source
OpenStax, College Physics 2e, §7.7 (Paul Peter Urone and Roger Hinrichs)Textbook reference retained from the OpenFormulaGraph dataset; adaptation credits and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted the notation, explanations, assumptions, and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example.
Average mechanical power measures how quickly work is transferred over a time interval. The same work delivered in less time means greater average power. Instantaneous power can differ throughout that interval.
| Symbol | Meaning | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Average mechanical power | ||
| Work transferred | ||
| Elapsed time |
Estimate average power during a motion.
Compare delivery times for the same lifting work.
A mechanism does 10.0 J of work in 2.00 s. Find its average mechanical power.
Textbook reference retained from the OpenFormulaGraph dataset; adaptation credits and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted the notation, explanations, assumptions, and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example.
Assumptions
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