The Energy System of Matter: A Deduction from Terrestrial Energy PhenomenaWeir, James, active 1883-1912
Science
The Energy System of Matter: A Deduction from Terrestrial Energy Phenomena
Weir, James, active 1883-1912
Force and energy
It is obvious that energy could readily be applied to the pendulum
system in such a degree as to cause it to rotate with considerable
angular velocity about the axis of suspension. Now the motion of the
pendulum mass in the lines of the gravitation field, although productive
of the same transformation process, differs from that of a body moving
vertically upward in that, while the latter has a linear movement, the
former is constrained into a circular path. This restraint is imposed in
virtue of the cohesive properties of the material of the pendulum arm,
and it is the presence of this restraining influence that really
distinguishes the pendulum machine from the machine in which the moving
mass is constrained by gravity alone (§ 20). It has been shown that the
energy capacity of a body projected vertically against gravity is
limited by its mass only; the energy capacity of the pendulum machine
may be likewise limited by its mass, but the additional restraining
factor of cohesion also imposes another limit. In the course of
rotation, energy is stored in the material of the pendulum against the
internal forces of cohesion. The action is simply that of what is
usually termed centrifugal force. As the velocity increases, the
pendulum arm lengthens correspondingly until the elastic limit of the
material in tension is reached. At this point, the pendulum may be said
to have reached the maximum length at which it can operate in that
reversible process of transformation in which energy of motion is
converted into energy of position. The amount of energy which would now
be working in that process may be termed the limiting energy for
reversibility. This limiting energy is the absolute maximum amount of
energy which can operate in the reversible cycle. It is coincident with
the maximum length of the pendulum arm in distortion. When the stress in
the material of that arm reaches the elastic limit, it is clear that the
transformation against cohesion will also have attained its limiting
value for reversibility. This transformation, if the velocity of the
pendulum is constant, is of the nature of a storage of energy. So long
as the velocity is constant the energy stored is constant. If the
elastic limiting stress of the material has not been exceeded, this
energy--neglecting certain minor processes (§§ 15, 29)--will be returned
in its original form as the velocity decreases. If, however, the
material be stressed beyond its elastic powers, the excess energy
applied will simply lead to permanent distortion or disruption of the
pendulum arm, and to a complete breakdown and change in the character of
the machine and the associated energy processes (§ 5). The physical
properties of the material thus limit the energy capacity of the
machine. This limiting feature, as already indicated, is not peculiar
to the pendulum machine alone. Every energy process embodied in a
material machine is limited in a similar fashion by the peculiar
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