I see. Suppose there was a diamond cutting tool then? Because all I really want to know is supposing there's a hard enough cutting tool (even marginally harder than the steel block), how would the amount of energy to make a cut on the block of x dimensions be calculated?
I was wondering how I would go about working out the energy required to cut a material (e.g. stone or steel) if given a volume, and all the necessary values pertaining to that specific material?
For example, how would I work out the amount of energy required to cut a steel block of dimensions...