Work = Force * Distance

Posted by T.W. Hanson - Mar 10th, 2008 at 20:03

Hopefully physics class in high school didn’t keep you awake at night like it did for me. One puzzle that always bothered me was the formula work = force * distance. Lying in bed, it was very clear that I was in the same spot where I began the day. My net displacement was zero meters. Therefore, the amount of work I accomplished was zero. How much work has the stock market done since January 14, 2000?

INDU

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed today March 10, 2008 at 11,740.15. It closed on January 14, 2000 at 11,722.98. 0.1% price appreciation! This is not adjusted for inflation. In purchasing power, the January 2000 value is significantly higher.

Over the past 8 years, we haven’t moved very far. I’ll leave it to you to figure out how much work we have accomplished.

2 Comments »

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  1. The problem you are having is that the equation work=force*distance is not always accurate to describe real systems. As I learnt at Cambridge:
    potential energy = - integral (Force dot ds) where ds is the displacement

    In classical systems, this equation can quite commonly be simplified to the one stated above, however, if I learned one thing when I was at Cambridge and took exams that forced me to calculate the range of frequencies audible to the human ear, the human body is not a classical system.

    Well done one the blog. Its a great read. I haven’t been a vicenarian for a great many years, but still fid the analysis spot on.

    Comment by Rosemary Wyse — March 16, 2008 #

  2. Keep up the good work.

    Comment by Rita — October 24, 2008 #

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