Energy
Standard Definition
"The capacity to do work" or "conserved quantity in physical systems"
Definition in the Law of Equalization
Energy is an independent physical substance that exists independently of matter.
Properties
- Exists primarily, not as a derivation
- Continuously seeks carriers (matter, photons)
- Moves through media
- Cannot be created or destroyed
- Cannot be "consumed" — only carriers change
- Has no mass of its own, but influences states of matter
Consequences
- E=mc² describes energy storage in matter, not conversion
- "Energy consumption" is a carrier change, not annihilation
- Empty space contains energy (in photons)
- Energy is cause, matter is effect
Metaphor
Energy behaves like water — it can be stored in various vessels (matter) or flowing (in photons), but it is always present.
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