grounded
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Is there ANY way for ANY type of energy to be transformed from one form to another with no losses, a perfect 100% efficiency?
Thank you...
Thank you...
The discussion centers on the impossibility of achieving 100% efficiency in energy transfer, specifically examining gravitational potential energy (PE) to kinetic energy (KE) transformations. Participants highlight that while energy can be transferred with minimal losses under ideal conditions, real-world factors such as friction and heat dissipation prevent perfect efficiency. The second law of thermodynamics is confirmed to apply universally across all forms of energy transformation, not just heat to mechanical energy. The conversation also touches on the nuances of energy definitions and the complexities involved in energy transfer processes.
PREREQUISITESPhysicists, engineers, and students interested in thermodynamics, energy systems, and the principles governing energy transformations.
ZapperZ said:Gravitational PE to KE. Drop a ball in low vacuum.
Zz.
ZapperZ said:Gravitational PE to KE. Drop a ball in low vacuum.
Zz.
grounded said:Wait, I'm wrong.
PE is not the energy required to hold the object from falling, its basically what KE can be at different distances. In that sense they are equal.
ZapperZ said:They are? This doesn't make any sense. What if, instead of dropping it, I roll a wheel down an inclined plane. Do you think the KE of that wheel is the same as the dropped ball after it has gone through the same height? If it isn't, then how can PE be nothing more than "what KE can be at different distance" when these two examples produced DIFFERENT KE?
Zz.
grounded said:I must be missing something simple, I thought the PE of the ball at the top of the hill is equal to the KE of the ball at the bottom of the hill? (minus friction)
Isn't the potential amount of energy the ball can have equal to the the energy the ball can obtain by falling or rolling?
grounded said:I'm not arguing, just trying to understand if the 2nd law of thermodynamics applies only for heat to mechanical or if it applies to all forms off energy tranformation.