Available online
Description
What precisely is energy? It's not something you can always detect with the senses. Energy can appear in many different forms. It can appear as the energy of motion or kinetic energy. It can appear... in the form of heat and light. It can even appear on an atomic or molecular scale as chemical energy. Energy cannot be created out of nothing - it can only be made available by some previous energy transfer or conversion. So, when it changes form, how can we calculate the amounts of energy being converted? What units do we use to measure energy? Using examples from fairground rides and sporting events, the film sets out to show exactly how energy can be quantified; how mass and speed become involved in a calculation to predict a height a pole vaulter can clear. By reconstructing two famous experiments, the rest of the film shows how James Prescott Joule, a 19th century scientist, proves that gavitational energy could be converted into heat. The 'waterfall' and 'paddle-wheel' experiments helped Joule to calculate exactly how much gravitational energy is needed to produce a certain quantity of heat. By defining a mechanical equivalent of hear Joule was on the way to establishing the all important law of energy conservation.
What precisely is energy? It's not something you can always detect with the senses. Energy can appear in many different forms. It can appear as the energy of motion or kinetic energy. It can appear... in the form of heat and light. It can even appear on an atomic or molecular scale as chemical energy. Energy cannot be created out of nothing - it can only be made available by some previous energy transfer or conversion. So, when it changes form, how can we calculate the amounts of energy being converted? What units do we use to measure energy? Using examples from fairground rides and sporting events, the film sets out to show exactly how energy can be quantified; how mass and speed become involved in a calculation to predict a height a pole vaulter can clear. By reconstructing two famous experiments, the rest of the film shows how James Prescott Joule, a 19th century scientist, proves that gavitational energy could be converted into heat. The 'waterfall' and 'paddle-wheel' experiments helped Joule to calculate exactly how much gravitational energy is needed to produce a certain quantity of heat. By defining a mechanical equivalent of hear Joule was on the way to establishing the all important law of energy conservation.
| Module code and title: | S102, Science: a foundation course |
|---|---|
| Item code: | S102; 09 |
| First transmission date: | 10-04-1988 |
| Published: | 1988 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:25:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Ken Kirby |
| Narrator: | Paul Vaughan |
| Contributors: | Graham Farmelo; Shelagh Ross; Alan Thompson |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Fairground rides; James Prescott Joule; Law of energy conservation; Paddle wheel experiment |
| Subject terms: | Sports; Energy transfer; Force and energy |
| Master spool number: | HOU5666 |
| Production number: | FOUS466S |
| Videofinder number: | 1404 |
| Available to public: | no |
