I usually don't envy a simple table, but I'm a little bit concerned with why it isn't apprently wasting any energy while doing some "useful things".
I'm not a physicist and I can't find an example that explain why the table nature is so lucky respect to us.
I know the table is not doing any work since It's not moving anything, but I also know that if I try to push a big truck the chances that I will win the lottery are far higher than me making it fo 1 cm.
As a result, I would have wasted all my energy for that day and I would probably end up eating an ice-cream.
The table instead seems a tireless and much more productive worker, capable of holding dozens of book for an endless interval. This is a harsh true.
I'll guess the answer is related with the chemistry of the materialm but I wuold love to really understand it.
Is the table slowly dissipating enrgy at a such slow rate that it's difficult to be aware of? Probably not, but it would be much easier.
!!!!!Update!!!!:
I tried to look down at what my misconception was, and I think it's not clear to me if whenever you ( or some object) apply a force on another thing, energy is always consumed/stored. Like in the case of the book on the table.
I really like the comments below and how the topic seems to be a little controversial.
On the table example I got this from the question suggested in the comment:
For the table, the situation is different, because the molecules of the table aren't constantly "relaxing" and "contracting". Once you place the book onto the table, the atoms are pushed in a little bit (depending on how sturdy the table is) and settle into a new equilibrium due to electromagnetic and nuclear forces.
And also @Maury Markowitz has given an interesting insight.
I don't think the question is duplciate in any way of the one which is supposed to be so if someone find it interesting help me to free it, and make it independent :)
