Dear Jim and All,
I think that the word 'power' has more problems other than those that you
refer to in physics.
Consider these sentences:
The government, which is a nuclear power, has the power to order the
electricity company to supply power to essential services during the power
strike. According to the chief electrical engineer the power usage has been
increasing according to a power formula, and he added that it was not within
his power to change it.
I don't think that I have used the word 'power' in any way that a physicist
might recognise using a strict physics definition of 'power'.
Insofar as the teaching problem is concerned, I think that the problems that
arise with different sorts of power comes from misunderstanding of the
nature of energy.
And when all those power brokers got done talking about it, they went out for a power lunch, then back to their desks for an invigorating power nap.
cm
