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The Third Law of Thermodynamics
By Larry Hendrick | August 24, 2006
I am the first to admit that conversations with the Redhead tend to take on large proportions, at times, as evidenced by this conversation on Einsteins Theory of Relativity. At least our take living near the water.
Well, today at lunch was no different. While eating, the topic turned to the third law of thermodynamics, but we could not remember the first two laws. For the record, the third law of thermodynamics says, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Soon that conversation ended because we couldn’t remember the others.
Well, I couldn’t stand it, so I jumped on the computer to have a refresher course. Just so it doesn’t drive you crazy, like me, here are the other two laws.
First Law of Thermodynamics
The first law of thermodynamics is often called the Law of Conservation of Energy. This law suggests that energy can be transferred from one system to another in many forms. However, it can not be created nor destroyed. Thus, the total amount of energy available in the Universe is constant. Einstein’s famous equation (written below) describes the relationship between energy and matter:
E = MC2In the equation above, energy (E) is equal to matter (M) times the square of a constant (C). Einstein suggested that energy and matter are interchangeable. His equation also suggests that the quantity of energy and matter in the Universe is fixed.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Heat can never pass spontaneously from a colder to a hotter body. As a result of this fact, natural processes that involve energy transfer must have one direction, and all natural processes are irreversible. This law also predicts that the entropy of an isolated system always increases with time. Entropy is the measure of the disorder or randomness of energy and matter in a system. Because of the second law of thermodynamics both energy and matter in the Universe are becoming less useful as time goes on. Perfect order in the Universe occurred the instance after the Big Bang when energy and matter and all of the forces of the Universe were unified.
So there you have another fun lunch conversation with The Redhead and me. Stay tuned for more because the conversation just keeps going.
How’s your dinner conversation going. Is everyone engaged?
Topics: Life |