Let $\Omega$ be an open subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$. The following
$$\lVert u \rVert_{1, 2}^2=\int_{\Omega} \lvert u(x)\rvert^2\, dx + \int_{\Omega} \lvert \nabla u(x)\rvert^2\, dx$$
defines a norm on $H^1(\Omega)$ space, that is sometimes called energy norm.
I don't feel easy with the physical meaning this name suggests. In particular, I see two non-homogeneous quantities, $\lvert u(x)\rvert^2$ and $\lvert \nabla u(x)\rvert^2$, being summed together. How can this be physically consistent?
Maybe some example could help me here. Thank you.
Best Answer
To expand on my comment (see e.g. http://online.itp.ucsb.edu/online/lnotes/balents/node10.html):
The expression which you give can be interpreted as the energy of a $n$-dimensional elastic manifold being elongated in the $n+1$ dimension (e.g. for $n=2$, membrane in three dimension); $u$ is the displacement field.
Let me put back the units $$E[u]= \frac{a}{2}\int_{\Omega} \lvert u(x)\rvert^2\, dx + \frac{b}{2} \int_{\Omega} \lvert \nabla u(x)\rvert^2\, dx.$$ The first term tries to bring the manifold back to equilibrium (with $u=0$), the second term penalizes fast changes in the displacement. The energy is not homogenous and involves a characteristic length scale $$\ell_\text{char} = \sqrt{\frac{b}{a}}.$$ This is the scale over which the manifold returns back to equilibrium (in space) if elongated at some point. With $b=0$, the manifold would return immediately, you elongate it at some point and infinitely close the manifold is back at $u=0$. With $a=0$ the manifold would never return to $u=0$. Only the competition between $a$ and $b$ leads to the physics which we expect for elastic manifold. This competition is intimately related to the fact that there is a characteristic length scale appearing.
It is important that physical laws are not homogenous, in order to have characteristic length scales (like $\ell$ in your example, the Bohr radius for the hydrogen problem, $\sqrt{\hbar/m\omega}$ for the quantum harmonic oscillator, ...). The energy of systems only become scale invariant in the vicinity of second order phase transitions. This is a strong condition on energy functionals to the extend that people classify all possible second order phase transitions.