From Energy to Energizing

In everyday conversation, I run out of energy after a long day. Solar cells capture the Sun’s energy to power our house. Energy is objectified. It is a thing. A systemic view, a view more aligned with Systems Processes Theory, describes energy processes, or, even better, energizing.

In the last couple of decades, introductory physics textbook definitions of energy have shifted from a mechanical view to a more systemic approach.

The classical textbook definition of energy is “the ability to do work.” Work is force times acceleration–force over a distance in a direction. I do work when I push a big rock up a hill. Energy from my body is transferred to moving the rock. Work is energy transfer. But energy as the ability to transfer energy is more than a bit tautological.

Newer textbooks define energy as “the ability to do work or to effect change.” Forces–frictional, magnetic, gravitational, electric, and more–are described as interactions, and physical changes occur as a result of interactions.

Force, as interaction, is the agent of change. Energy is a measure of the extent of change that has occurred or that is yet to occur in a system. Physicist Richard Feynman said, “Energy is not a thing. Itʻs a number associated with the state of a system.”

Classical thermodynamics describes the state of closed systems in terms of heat, entropy, and equilibrium–the thermodynamics of machines. Modern thermodynamics, also called “nonlinear” or “nonequilibrium” thermodynamics, describes the processes of open, self-organizing systems–the thermodynamics of Nature.

Unplug a tub of water, and the water molecules spiral down the drain. When the plug is removed, the potential energy of the water transfers to mechanical energy. Gravitational forces accelerate change. The energized molecules organize into a tornado-like pattern.

A 2015 experiment by Kondepudi, Kay, and Dixon vividly illustrates systemic organization. Metal beads suspended in oil within a petri dish, when energized by an external electrode, self-organize into branching, tree-like networks that point toward the energy source. When disturbed, the beads repeatedly reorganize themselves. This demonstrates that energizing isn’t just necessary for organization—it drives organization. Even the simplest molecules, once energized, self-organize into more efficient patterns, co-operating to maximize further energizing.

The Sun is Earth’s primary energizing source. Nuclear fusion within the Sun releases photon waves, energizing terrestrial systems, sparking change, and promoting ever more complex organization—all in pursuit of the increased capacity for energizing and interaction.

To summarize, energy is a measure of change or the potential for change; energizing is a systems process. It is the movement resulting in interactions that enable systems—particles, atoms, molecules—to organize into greater complexity to more effectively energize for further organizing.

Feynman, R. P., Leighton, R. B., & Sands, M. (1969). The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Addison-Wesley, -70.

Hecht, E. (2007). Energy and Change. The Physics Teacher, 45(2), 88–92. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2432084

Kondepudi, D. (2008). Introduction to Modern Thermodynamics. John Wiley and Sons.

Kondepudi, D., Kay, B., & Dixon, J. (2015). End-directed evolution and the emergence of energy-seeking behavior in a complex system. Physical Review E, 91(5). https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.91.050902

Lehrman, R. (1973). Energy Is Not the Ability to Do Work. The Physics Teacher, 11(1), 15–18.

Rasmussen, L. (2024). Seeing: A Field Guide to the Patterns and Processes of Nature, Culture, and Consciousness. Maui Institute.