When a given amount of mechanical energy is transferred (such as when throwing a ball, lifting a box, crushing a soda can, or stirring a beverage) it is said that this amount of mechanical work has been done. Both mechanical energy and mechanical work are measured in the same units as energy in general. It is usually said that a component of a system has a certain amount of "mechanical energy" (i.e. it is a state function), whereas "mechanical work" describes the amount of mechanical energy a component has gained or lost.