Energy Transferred by Working
Energy and Thermal Physics
Shifting or transferring?
Physics Narrative
for 11-14
Choosing terminology
We have chosen to use the word shifting
to describe what happens when one energy store empties and another fills. We think that the idea of shifting helpfully supports the underlying understanding of energy leaving one store and turning up in another.
Of course, in many school physics books, the term transfer
is used. If you are not happy with shift
, then no inaccuracies ensue from replacing it with transfer
. However, we thing it worth trying out the shifting approach. Shift
is a simple and evocative word.
