P&P #45 Use of the Definition
P = F.v
(Power = Force times velocity) May Cause Serious Errors in Basic Sports Science.
Virtually every basic text or physical education teacher relies on this basic definition to compute power in sporting activities, which tends to disguise some very important facts. Most important is the fact that this definition applies only with some measure of validity if the force is constant. Now, here is the major problem - where in sport do we ever encounter constancy of force over any extended range of movement?
Even in the interests of simplicity and sparing physical education or medical students the possible trauma of calculus and differential equations, are we justified in ever using this simplified definition of Power? As a hint, consider using the definition of power in its differential calculus form of Power = Rate of change of work over a given interval to reveal the existence of a missing term from the equation :
P = F.V
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