Temperature is the measure of average kinetic energy of an object

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of temperature as a measure of average kinetic energy, particularly in the context of a thermometer placed in a pencil case that is thrown. Participants explore the relationship between the motion of the pencil case and the temperature reading of the thermometer.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking, Exploratory

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants question why the thermometer reading remains unchanged despite the kinetic energy of the pencil case's particles varying. Some suggest that the effects of the throw on the average kinetic energy of the molecules are negligible. Others explore the implications of thermodynamic equilibrium and the relationship between translational kinetic energy and thermal energy.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with various interpretations being explored regarding the effects of motion on temperature readings. Some participants have offered insights into the invariance of physics under Lorentz transformations and the potential impact of air drag and friction on temperature measurements.

Contextual Notes

There are assumptions regarding the conditions under which the temperature is measured, including the effects of external forces and the state of thermodynamic equilibrium. The discussion also touches on the limitations of measuring temperature in a non-static frame of reference.

primarygun
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Temperature is the measure of average kinetic energy of an object.
If I put a thermometer in a pencil case, and I throw the pencil case away, the reading does not change. However, the kinetic energy of any particles of the pencil case did vary. Why?
 
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The effects are negligible...?

I'm not too sure what you meant by throwing it away.
 
Increase its speed;
 
The average kinetic energy of the molecules is barely affected by the throw.
 
why? ??
The speed of the object increased
 
But the average kinetic energy of each individual molecule is approximately the same.
 
Note also that temperature is used to describe an object in thermodynamic equilibrium. If all of the atoms and electrons are moving at the same velocity, then the energy is not equally divided among the degrees of freedom. Thus, this would not be well described by a "temperature". You could, however, describe the energy as a linear combination of a total translational kinetic energy and a thermal energy with the same temperature as that measured at rest.
 
& if you want to measure its tempreture,the thermometer would fly with it,therefore there'll be no kinetic energy to the thermometer,so the figure will retain the same,isn't it?
 
The speed of the moving pencil case is negligible compared to the speed of the atoms flying around.
 
  • #10
dreamfly said:
& if you want to measure its tempreture,the thermometer would fly with it,therefore there'll be no kinetic energy to the thermometer,so the figure will retain the same,isn't it?

That's another good point. Since physics is invariant under Lorentz transformations (in other words, we switch to a frame moving with the thermometer and case), then a throw at a constant velocity in a vacuum should give the same temperature measurement as at rest. In real life, though, there would be air drag and friction forces dissipating the kinetic energy of the case and thermometer, effectively thermalizing the energy. Thus, if you throw it fast enough, you will eventually notice a change in temperature (don't forget that fast-moving objects will often "burn up" in the atmosphere).
 

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