ERG

ERG (from the Greek ergon - work, deed), a unit of measurement for work or energy. The French mathematician and mechanician Poncelet, together with Coriolis, around 1826 introduced the concept of work as the product of force and distance, which is usually formulated as follows: the work P performed by a force F overcoming some resistance without acceleration over a distance S is measured by the product of force F on distance S (P = FS). Hence the dimension of work = g·cm²/sec² (see Absolute system of measurement). In the absolute system, where the dyne is taken as the unit of force and the centimeter as the unit of length, the unit of work, the erg, equals the work performed by 1 dyne when moving its point of application by 1 cm. Erg = dyne·cm. This is approximately the work that needs to be expended to lift 1 mg by 1 cm. For practical purposes, the erg is too small, and therefore the following units of work are commonly used: 1 megaderg = 1,000,000 ergs, 1 joule = 10,000,000 ergs (see Joule).- With the technical unit of work, the kilogram-meter (the work expended to lift 1 kg to a height of 1 m), the erg is related as follows: 1 kg·m = 98,100,000 ergs = 9.81 joules. II. A term introduced by Bleuler to denote elements of psychic energy. Bleuler considers that psychic energy is nourished by affectivity (see Affect), which gives rise to both intellectual and volitional activity. Both receive a certain direction from the nature of the affective charge present in the individual. Affectivity, combining with products of thought, forms complex psychic connections, which exert a powerful influence on the entire psychic life and activity of a person, determining both his achievements and various disorders and disturbances of nervous-psychic functions. The units of such dynamic affectivity are ergs.