Measurement of Work

Man's Way of Helping Himself:
In Section 150, we learned that the amount of work done depends upon the force exerted, and the distance covered, or that W = force × distance. A man who raises 5 pounds a height of 5 feet does far more work than a man who raises 5 ounces a height of 5 inches, but the product of force by distance is 25 in each case. There is difficulty because we have not selected an arbitrary unit of work. The unit of work chosen and in use in practical affairs is the foot pound, and is defined as the work done when a force of 1 pound acts through a distance of 1 foot. A man who moves 8 pounds through 6 feet does 48 foot pounds of work, while a man who moves 8 ounces (1/2 pound) through 6 inches (1/2 foot) does only one fourth of a foot pound of work.