- #1
BOAS
- 552
- 19
Hello,
I was thinking about a situation last night and couldn't convince myself of a correct answer, so I thought i'd put it to you guys.
Imagine an isolated system containing a star at some temperature radiating a given amount of energy into the environment. Can the environments temperature ever exceed that of the star?
I don't think such a situation would violate conservation of energy, because the star is converting mass into energy. But does this violate zeroth law?
My thoughts were that as the star radiates energy into the environment, it cannot escape and continues to build up due to the thermal radiation of the star. Given enough time, the system will reach thermal equilibrium, but can the environment exceed the temperature of the star at any point?
Thanks!
I was thinking about a situation last night and couldn't convince myself of a correct answer, so I thought i'd put it to you guys.
Imagine an isolated system containing a star at some temperature radiating a given amount of energy into the environment. Can the environments temperature ever exceed that of the star?
I don't think such a situation would violate conservation of energy, because the star is converting mass into energy. But does this violate zeroth law?
My thoughts were that as the star radiates energy into the environment, it cannot escape and continues to build up due to the thermal radiation of the star. Given enough time, the system will reach thermal equilibrium, but can the environment exceed the temperature of the star at any point?
Thanks!