What is energy?

Benj96

Energy is the ability to do work? But what does that really mean? Work is subject to time. Work happens. Energy cannot exist without time and time cannot exist without energy. A state of total potential to be is also a state of total time to be. The unification of energy and time is change or information - the state of becoming which can be broken down into cause and effect. It must be inherently relative to itself as all information and change is not isolated from itself. That is to say there is continuity of change from change.

If one state is the “wave function of all possible states” the only way in which time can occur, ie in which an event can occur is if the wave collapses into a singular state out of its set - ie. a particle. It has to go from being dimensionless potential to having a defined quality, quantity or state of being.

I believe this relativistic nature between particle and wave is demonstrated by E=mc2 where at the speed of light E dimensions such as time and space become negligible due to dilation and contraction while M (matter) must be by nature subject to time and space (speed).

Thoughts?

Pfhorrest

Some of what you said about was a little hard for me to follow, but in general I think you’re on the right track.

Matter being equivalent energy is a more modern form of “to be is to do”: things are what they do, energy is the potential to do, so what anything is is some form of energy or another.

And all matter naturally moves at c, only slowing down (and gaining rest mass) when it interacts with something else, and at c time and space distort such that from the frame of reference of every particle, it existed only at a point and for an instant: the point and instant at which whatever emitted it interacted with whatever absorbed it, the particle itself just being that interaction event: what it does constituting the entirety of its being.

Banno

But what does that really mean? — Benj96

Ever noticed that physics had to invoke the creative bookkeeping of potential energy to make the equations work?

And they do.

What it really means is that he equations work.

Metaphysician Undercover

Ever noticed that physics had to invoke the creative bookkeeping of potential energy to make the equations work? — Banno

If energy is the potential for doing work, then what's potential energy, the potential for the potential for doing work?

Gregory

↪Benj96

There are things that existed, things that exist, and things that will exist. There are things that are possible and perhaps things that are impossible. Are you saying that a world without relativity is impossible?

Wayfarer

Some mention might also be made of dark energy.

We know how much dark energy there is because we know how it affects the universe's expansion. Other than that, it is a complete mystery. But it is an important mystery. It turns out that roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 27%. The rest - everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter - adds up to less than 5% of the universe. Come to think of it, maybe it shouldn't be called "normal" matter at all, since it is such a small fraction of the universe. — NASA Science

Gregory

↪Metaphysician Undercover

It's already been said everything is acting to a certain degree. Energy has potential to act in new ways

Benj96

If energy is the potential for doing work, then what's potential energy, the potential for the potential for doing work? — Metaphysician Undercover

I think the confusion is in the term “potential” being used in different ways. There are many types of energy; chemical, electrical, light, heat etc. Energy is the potential to be any or all of these forms and more. But “Potential energy” on the other hand refers to a specific measurement of energy in one of its forms rather than the capacity of energy in its entirety.

For example an elastic band under tension or an object suspended at a height under the influence of gravity are things with potential energy; that is to say they have the inherent chemical energy Of being an object which has the capacity to store additional potential energy to do work in the form of tension or height above ground. But energy is the “potential” To be an elastic band or object in the first place as well as the interactions and forces that act between objects etc

TheMadFool

↪Benj96

Energy is work waiting to be done. I believe both are measured in Joules or Ergs.

Benj96

Energy is work waiting to be done. I believe both are measured in Joules or Ergs. — TheMadFool

I agree however I’ve also come to difficult viewpoints regarding the “potential” side to energy vs the “actionable” side. You can’t measure potential to be you can only measure interactions between things that already are. We know energy is there because objects mysteriously move and conjugate or explode and do all sorts of things by the invisible hand of some force. But without energy being objects there would be nothing to interact with anything. So I’m the sense of “energy is work waiting to be done” it’s a bit illogical as work is the definition of “done” in the first place otherwise it’s not work it’s potential. So that statement says energy is acted states (work) waiting (Another act) to be acted (done)

Philosophim

One way to look at energy is "matter in motion". An increase or decrease in motion causes different interactions between matter itself.

Metaphysician Undercover

One way to look at energy is "matter in motion". — Philosophim

This is a good start, but energy is much more than this. Energy is transferable, from one material object to another. This is why there is a need for potential energy, to account for this transferal of energy.

PoeticUniverse

My Energy video: https://vimeo.com/338098562

What is energy?

Welcome to The Philosophy Forum!

Categories

More Discussions