In the majority of processes in which there is an energy exchange and/or work is done an important factor is the time taken in the process.
If we think about appliances like a refrigerator, a dryer, a light bulb which consume electric energy and transform it in order to cool, heat, illuminate..., the physical magnitude which relates the electric energy consumed in a unit of time is called power.
Power applies to any process of energy transfer. So, for example, we can also talk of the power of a crane to lift a load, and the work performed by a hoist in the time unit. |