Is power scalar or vector

Answer: Power can be defined as the measurement of the rate at which a certain amount of work is done. In simple words, if a machine is doing a certain amount of work, energy is transferred from that object into the work that is done. Therefore, the rate at which this energy is being transferred is considered the power of that machine. Theoretically, it can be described as the rate of work done in a given unit of time. To express the power in terms of a mathematical formula, W is used to denote the work done and t is used to denote the time. The formula is expressed as:

P=W / t

Here, P is used to denote Power. 

Now, considering the fact that whether power is a scalar quantity or a vector quantity, it is necessary to understand what is a scalar quantity and vector quantity. They can be described as;

• Scalar Quantity: A scalar quantity can be described as those quantities, which include only magnitude. Some of the examples of scalar quantity are area, volume, length, etc.

• Vector Quantity: Effective quantity is described as those quantities which include both the magnitude as well as the direction. Some of the examples of vector quantity are velocity, torque, force, etc.

Here, work done can be considered as the product of the force acting over a certain object and the amount of displacement that occurred in that object. 

W= F.s

As for the fact, both (F) force and (s) displacements are vector quantities, but their dot product will be a scalar quantity. Therefore, both work done and time is considered to be a scalar quantity, which turns out to make the power a scalar quantity. In contrast to this, if the power is considered to be the quantity of current electricity, both Voltage and current are considered to be a scalar quantity. 

P=V* I

Therefore, Power is a scalar quantity.