Energy Flow Diagrams for Teaching Physics Concepts
Art Hobson · The Physics Teacher · 2004
Energy is arguably the central unifying concept in physics. The validity of the principles of energy extends almost without change from “classical” physics through all of modern physics. Even processes that are too complex or too far outside the Newtonian regime to be easily described in terms of forces can be described in an accurate and conceptually transparent manner in terms of energy. Thus, energy is a useful central organizing principle in teaching physics conceptually. Every physical process is an energy transformation of some forms of energy into other forms. “Energy flow diagrams” present these transformations visually and approximately quantitatively.1 Even for complex processes where analysis in terms of force and motion would be out of the question, energy flow diagrams show the physical fundamentals in a meaningful manner. This paper discusses energy flow diagrams for a few simple processes, and proceeds to complex socially significant processes.