The Four Laws of Thermodynamics: Explaining Heat and Energy

Different scientific principles exist to give humans a better understanding of why different things within the universe exist in the manner that they do. The principles give a better understanding of the several ways that particles and molecules react to certain conditions, while also determining their different tendencies. A day in the life of any person on earth will consist of hundreds of subtle demonstrations of properties carefully derived by scientists throughout history. Energy is responsible for providing mankind with life, food, the ability to create, and several different aspects of society. Energy can be generated from renewable and non-renewable methods.

Renewable energy is harmless to the earth and can be continuously created forever. Non-renewable energy is the burning of fossil fuels and, although inexpensive, is currently damaging ecosystems while dwindling away in quantity. Thermodynamics allows for an understanding between the relationship of heat and other types of energy. There are four laws of thermodynamics which will always aid in solutions to problems regarding thermal energy within systems. The laws were created many years ago, however; they still prove to be the cornerstone of understanding thermodynamics. In order to fully understand thermodynamics, it is also important to study the different branches. The four branches of thermodynamics all account for the study of different parts of a system, and the tendencies of the particles within. Energy and thermodynamics are key parts of science which can allow for a better understanding of the reactions of particles.

The Importance and Production of Energy

Energy is power derived from the utilization of different resources, both physical and chemical. Energy has been used for thousands of years in order to power the many necessities of developed civilizations. Everything within the universe is powered through the use of energy, and without energy, the world would be destined for a total and irreversible crisis. Most importantly, all living organisms, including humans, require some source of energy to survive. This alone makes energy one the most important aspects of life. There are many different resources which can create energy in complex ways, however; some have a greater upside than others. Natural energy is produced through different natural occurrences within the environment. Solar radiation, or sunshine, is an example of a natural occurrence which produces energy. Solar energy has become drastically more relevant through recent technological innovation. Wind energy can also produce natural energy through the use of wind turbines. Engineers aid in the development of methods to maintain the production of natural and renewable energy as global warming continues become greater issue. By the year 2050, countries such as Canada, have vowed to be entirely dependent upon natural energy through the use of solar power, wind power, and other sources of renewable energy such as hydropower. Although renewable energy is the most environmentally friendly energy method, other sources of energy can often be more efficient and less costly. The most used energy sources in the world today are fossil fuels. The burning of fuels has been around for hundreds of years and still makes up over two-thirds of the current energy demands in the world. There are three main types of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal is generated through plants which have previously decomposed and have been heavily pressured. Unfortunately, there is only enough coal to produce energy for 150 more years. This is an extremely daunting statistic as many Asian countries such as China rely most heavily on coal energy to power their extremely populated country. Similarly, oil, which is made up of the remains of animals from many years’ past, will only be available for approximately 53 more years. Natural gas is a mixture of many components existing naturally beneath the earth’s surface such as methane. “Once collected, the fossil fuels are then burned to heat water. When the fossil fuels' many hydrocarbon bonds are broken, they release large amounts of energy. The steam from the water then increases in pressure, forcing a turbine to spin. The turbine is used to rotate a magnet encased in a generator a high speed. As the magnet spins, electrons are produced, and then power”. Although the burning of fossil fuels is extremely detrimental to the well-being of the environment, the low-cost for corporations has made non-renewable energy production a beacon of engineering opportunity. The complex systems used to produce the energy require immense construction, and engineers have heavily benefitted through the need for skilled designers. Energy can be generated through  renewable resources and non-renewable resources and is a vital part in maintaining the collective well-being of the entire universe.

The Laws of Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics represents the relationship between heat energy and all other types of energy. There are four laws of thermodynamics which have been constructed through hundreds of years of research. The first and second laws of thermodynamics were provided by German physicist Rudolf Clausius in the 1850s. The first law states that “an isolated system’s internal energy is constant”. This means that energy cannot be created, nor destroyed, but only moved from one location to another or converted to other forms of energy. A simple of example of the first law of thermodynamics is proven when plants undergo photosynthesis. During this energy conversion, plants intake the solar energy provided by the sun and convert it to energy which will provide nutrition for the plant to survive. The second law states that “heat does not spontaneously flow from a given location to a location that is hotter”. This means that the entropy, or disorder, of a closed system is constantly increasing. Entropy is a quantity within thermodynamics used to measure the disorder within a system. As entropy increases, a smaller amount of energy maintains the ability to do useful work. An example of an entropy increase is an ice cube melting to water. Ice is a solid structure, meaning the particles within the cube are in fixed positions. As the melting occurs, the particles become freer and more disordered. When the water freezes back to ice, a decrease is entropy will be exemplified as the particles will be at a loss of freedom. The third law of thermodynamics was instilled by German chemist Walther Nernst in the 1910s. This law states that “as a system’s temperature gets closer to absolute zero, the processes within it begin to stop and the system’s entropy reaches its minimum value.” This means that as when there is zero kinetic energy within a system, there is also minimum entropy. This makes complete sense as a particle at a fixed place with absolutely zero kinetic energy is predictable, with little, or no, disorder. The only system in the world that can reach 0 K, or absolute zero temperature, is a perfect crystal. Because the crystal is able to achieve zero kinetic energy, it can also achieve zero entropy. Lastly, zeroth law states that “when two systems are respectively in thermal equilibrium with a third system, this means that they are likewise in thermal equilibrium with each other.” This means that if a first system is at equilibrium with a second system, and a third system is at equilibrium with the first system, then the second system and third system are at equilibrium as well. Although this may be a simple law, it can often be extremely useful in thermodynamics. All four laws of thermodynamics were carefully derived and are used today to better understand the relationship between heat and energy within systems.

The Branches of Thermodynamics

In addition to the laws of thermodynamics, there are also four branches of thermodynamics. One branch of thermodynamics is classical thermodynamics. This branch studies systems which rely heavily on being near equilibrium. The branch will study the relationship between state functions of systems such as volume and energy. In classical thermodynamics, microscopic components of the system are disregarded. Statistical thermodynamics relies on deriving the relationship between the state functions of the system and the microscopic components of a system. In statistical thermodynamics, all possible configurations of the system are assumed to be equally likely to occur, therefore all outcomes can be determined and studied. The branch of chemical thermodynamics studies the integration of thermodynamics within chemicals. This branch is important as it also studies the thermodynamic properties within a system during change of states. This is essential in understanding entropy, as a large entropy increase or decrease often occurs during the change of state of a system. The fourth branch of thermodynamics is equilibrium thermodynamics. Equilibrium thermodynamics studies how systems can be in equilibrium, be shifted out of equilibrium, and then eventually return to equilibrium. Equilibrium thermodynamics is essential to systems that must maintain their equilibrium. There are different branches of thermodynamics that study different aspects of energy within systems. Energy is apparent in many different forms and can be better understood through the use of thermodynamics and thermodynamic properties. As technology has been developed over time, the production of energy has also been revolutionized. Although non-renewable energy is still very apparent, renewable energy sources have been developed and utilized to create for environmentally friendly energy. Engineers have played a key role in the development of different methods of energy production, and they will continue to look for different methods of efficiency within the trade. Thermodynamics is the relation between heat energy and other energy types.

Overall, there are different laws of thermodynamics which allow one to better understand the relationship. The laws will always prevail throughout the study of systems. Different branches of thermodynamics also exist to differentiate from the different types of studies on systems using thermodynamic principles. Each system incorporates different components, allowing for many different ways of understanding complex systems. Energy is required in order for the world to operate with the high level of efficiency that is desired. In order to maintain the proper utilization of energy, it is extremely important to understand the tendencies of particles undergoing reaction through different studies such as thermodynamics.

References

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