- #1
Me1
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Hi All,
I have a question and hopefully this is the right board for it. First let me explain that I am a Chemist/Biologist, not a Physicist, and haven’t touched even physical chemistry since my degree many, many years ago. However I have recently found myself reading up on my fundamental physics and am hoping someone can clarify something for me.
Now before my question I’d like to briefly run through my current understanding so that if I have got something wrong it can be cleared up. Otherwise I might misunderstand any answers if I’ve got my basics wrong :)! Ok, deep breath…..
1) There are two types of energy: Kinetic and Potential
2) Potential energy is sort of ‘energy available for use’
3) Kinetic energy is sort of ‘energy in use’ - motion
4) While practically speaking energy can be divided into all sorts of types like Thermal, Electrical, Chemical etc… If you go down to a small enough scale it’s all ultimately kinetic energy, ie the movement of objects, be they tennis balls, molecules or electrons.
5) Energy can never be lost, only transferred
6) There are two energy transfer processes: Work and Heat
7) Work is the transfer of ‘organised motion’, ie no change in entropy
8) Heat is the transfer of ‘chaotic motion’, ie there is an entropy change
9) Temperature is a measure of the total atomic/ molecular motion of a substance (translational, vibrational, rotational movement) and on a macroscopic scale defines the direction of energy transfer via heat.
10) Absolute zero is when a substance has no motion at all, no kinetic energy
11) Electromagnetic Radiation is perpendicular oscillating electrical and magnet fields, which have both wave and particulate properties.
12) Electromagnetic Radiation has both energy and momentum, but no mass.
13) When defining all this energy and motion you have to have some reference point which it is relative too (such as some arbitrary point on Earth)
Now, finally, my rather simple question: When Electromagnetic Radiation strikes something and transfers energy is it a heat process? That’s it (for now………)
I have a question and hopefully this is the right board for it. First let me explain that I am a Chemist/Biologist, not a Physicist, and haven’t touched even physical chemistry since my degree many, many years ago. However I have recently found myself reading up on my fundamental physics and am hoping someone can clarify something for me.
Now before my question I’d like to briefly run through my current understanding so that if I have got something wrong it can be cleared up. Otherwise I might misunderstand any answers if I’ve got my basics wrong :)! Ok, deep breath…..
1) There are two types of energy: Kinetic and Potential
2) Potential energy is sort of ‘energy available for use’
3) Kinetic energy is sort of ‘energy in use’ - motion
4) While practically speaking energy can be divided into all sorts of types like Thermal, Electrical, Chemical etc… If you go down to a small enough scale it’s all ultimately kinetic energy, ie the movement of objects, be they tennis balls, molecules or electrons.
5) Energy can never be lost, only transferred
6) There are two energy transfer processes: Work and Heat
7) Work is the transfer of ‘organised motion’, ie no change in entropy
8) Heat is the transfer of ‘chaotic motion’, ie there is an entropy change
9) Temperature is a measure of the total atomic/ molecular motion of a substance (translational, vibrational, rotational movement) and on a macroscopic scale defines the direction of energy transfer via heat.
10) Absolute zero is when a substance has no motion at all, no kinetic energy
11) Electromagnetic Radiation is perpendicular oscillating electrical and magnet fields, which have both wave and particulate properties.
12) Electromagnetic Radiation has both energy and momentum, but no mass.
13) When defining all this energy and motion you have to have some reference point which it is relative too (such as some arbitrary point on Earth)
Now, finally, my rather simple question: When Electromagnetic Radiation strikes something and transfers energy is it a heat process? That’s it (for now………)