Chapter 1
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Discussion Questions - Two Laws of Thermodynamics
- For each pairing of energy forms below, indicate which are mutually convertible and which are not. For each convertible pair, identify (a) a technology that converts the first into the second and (b) a technology that converts the second into the first.
- electrical, mechanical
- electrical, tidal
- mechanical, low grade heat
- solar, chemical
- When a battery is charged, electrical energy is transferred into (a) chemical energy and (b) low-grade heat. In which transformation(s), if either, is the electrical energy degraded? Explain your answer.
- What is the relation in general between energy degradation and the work capacity of the forms of energy involved in question 2?
- What is the relation in general between degraded energy and entropy?
- Define work, and then explain why all work involves energy degradation.
- Explain the defining difference between open and closed systems.
- Explain what is meant in thermodynamics by the so-called “heat death” of the universe. Then relate this concept of heat death to the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
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by the Contributing Authors.
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Cite/attribute Resource.
Sayre, K. (2009, February 18). Chapter 1. Retrieved May 23, 2012, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/philosophy/environmental-philosophy/discussion-questions/chapter-1.
