Conversion between Watt and Joule

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the conversion between watt and joule, focusing on the relationship between energy (joules) and power (watts). Participants explore the implications of these units in various contexts, including specific energy and specific power, as well as the conditions under which such conversions might be meaningful.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants emphasize that joules and watts represent different physical quantities, with joules being a unit of energy and watts a unit of power.
  • One participant notes that 1 watt equals 1 joule per second, suggesting a relationship between the two units.
  • Another participant questions the meaningfulness of converting between energy and power, comparing it to the relationship between distance and speed.
  • Some propose using ratios to relate specific energy and specific power, though they acknowledge that not all systems scale linearly.
  • A calculation is presented to illustrate that delivering energy at a certain power for a specific time results in a total energy delivered, but it is clarified that this does not constitute a conversion.
  • Participants discuss the concept of specific energy and specific power, with one noting that specific power is relevant in contexts like engines and batteries.
  • There is a humorous exchange about the energy content of apples and the absurdity of needing to consume a large quantity to match a specific power output.
  • One participant mentions that a watt-second is equivalent to a joule, reinforcing the connection between the two units.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that joules and watts are distinct units representing different concepts. However, there is no consensus on the appropriateness of referring to a "conversion" between them, and multiple viewpoints regarding their relationship and implications remain present.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions highlight the need for additional context to fully understand the original question regarding conversion, as well as the specific conditions under which the relationships between energy and power might be applied.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying physics, engineering, or related fields, particularly in understanding the nuances of energy and power measurements and their applications in various contexts.

jamiebean
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example)
E = 2734.2 joules per gram
P = 2.73 x 109 watt/gram

q: How can this conversion work?

E = 21000 joules per gram
P = ?
 
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jamiebean said:
example)
E = 2734.2 joules per gram
P = 2.73 x 109 watt/gram

q: How can this conversion work?

E = 21000 joules per gram
P = ?
what do you want to convert? Joule is unit of energy, Watt is unit of Power. Those are different physical quantities.
 
1 watt = 1 joule per second
 
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lomidrevo said:
what do you want to convert? Joule is unit of energy, Watt is unit of Power. Those are different physical quantities.

E=energy
P=power

s the conversion above possible??
 
As I said, those are different quantities, so I miss any meaningful reason for such conversion. Maybe, what you want to rather know, is the relationship between them. At the most basic level, we can define Power as the rate of doing work (using energy), or amount of work done per time interval and the relationship between the units is ##W = \frac{J}{s}##
 
jamiebean said:
s the conversion above possible??
If you know the time.
 
A.T. said:
If you know the time.

I don't think that conversion is the correct word here. We could also ask (as analogy to Energy and Power): What is the conversion between Distance and Speed? It doesn't have any physical meaning. But we can say there is close relationship between them, when describing motion of an object.
 
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jamiebean said:
example)
E = 2734.2 joules per gram
P = 2.73 x 109 watt/gram

q: How can this conversion work?

E = 21000 joules per gram
P = ?

If the two systems are similar I would try using ratios (scaling)

P2/E2 = P1/E1
So..
P2 = (P1/E1) * E1P2 = (2.73 * 10^9 / 2734.2) * 21000

Without more information it's not possible to say if this is the correct approach. Not everything scales linearly like this.
 
jamiebean said:
example)
E = 2734.2 joules per gram
P = 2.73 x 109 watt/gram

q: How can this conversion work?

##\frac{2734.2 \ \mathrm{J/g}}{2.73 \times 10^9 \ \mathrm{W/g}}\approx 1.00\times10^{-6} \ \mathrm{s}##

This calculation tells us that if you delivered energy at a rate of 2.73 x 109 J/s for 1.0 x 10-6 seconds you'd deliver a total of about 2734.2 J of energy. There are no conversions involved here.

It's like saying your position changes by 60 miles every hour when you move at a speed of 60 mi/h. If you do this for, say 2 hours, you'll travel a distance of 120 miles. Note that I'm not converting 60 mi/h to 120 mi. Again, there are no conversions here.

Conversions are present when two quantities are measuring the same thing but in different units. When you measure a speed of 60 mi/h you're measuring a speed, not a distance. And when you measure a distance of 120 mi you're measuring a distance, not a speed. Speed is the rate at which distance changes.

The watt is a unit of power, not energy. The joule is a unit of energy, not power. Power is the rate at which energy is transferred.
 
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  • #10
jamiebean said:
example)
E = 2734.2 joules per gram
P = 2.73 x 109 watt/gram

q: How can this conversion work?

E = 21000 joules per gram
P = ?
Can't see that anyone has done it so far, but I'd like to point out that the equations are incorrect.
Joules/gram is "specific energy", not just energy.
Likewise, watts/gram is "specific power". Which happens to be such an obscure thing, that wiki doesn't even have an entry for it.
They do list two examples though, in their "power density" page:
Stars/hydrogen: 1.84 watts/gram
Plutonium: 1940 watts/gram​

This might seem trivial, and it appears that everyone has simply worked around it, as "grams" simply cancels out, but it confused me at first.

In my confusion, I decided to find out the specific energy of something, and randomly picked apples.
Serendipitously, they have a surprisingly similar specific energy to your number: 2200 joules/gram
From that, I determined that I'd have to eat 6,700 apples per second, at the given "specific power".
Which is when I think I went back to your original post, as that seemed like a lot of apples to consume, per second.
 
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  • #11
OmCheeto said:
Serendipitously, they have a surprisingly similar specific energy to your number: 2200 joules/gram
From that, I determined that I'd have to eat 6,700 apples per second, at the given "specific power".
Which is when I think I went back to your original post, as that seemed like a lot of apples to consume, per second.
Yes, but that's just the chemical energy released in digesting apples. You'll need a lot less if you fuse them.
 
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  • #12
russ_watters said:
Yes, but that's just the chemical energy released in digesting apples. You'll need a lot less if you fuse them.

All you'd need is a tiny piece of one of those apples, provided you had a comparable amount of anti-apple. :woot:
 
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  • #13
Specific power isn't totally obscure, it's used for engines or batteries where weight matters, such as aircraft.
 
  • #14
I think we need the OP to provide more context to his question.
 
  • #15
CWatters said:
Specific power isn't totally obscure, it's used for engines or batteries where weight matters, such as aircraft.
Yes. I remember the "power to weight" ratios listed for cars, back when I was a youngster.
Interesting how "specific power" is mostly only a concern of rocket scientists, 16 year olds, and electric car manufacturers.
hmmmm...
Yes.
Where is that OP?
 
  • #16
a watt-second is a joule.
 
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