Thermosurfacetoairnewyork.comistry is a branch of surfacetoairnewyork.comical thermodynamics, the science that deals with the relationships between heat, work, and other forms of energy in the context of surfacetoairnewyork.comical and physical processes. As we concentrate on thermosurfacetoairnewyork.comistry in this chapter, we need to consider some widely used concepts of thermodynamics.
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Substances act as reservoirs of energy, meaning that energy can be added to them or removed from them. Energy is stored in a substance when the kinetic energy of its atoms or molecules is raised. The greater kinetic energy may be in the form of increased translations (travel or straight-line motions), vibrations, or rotations of the atoms or molecules. When thermal energy is lost, the intensities of these motions decrease and the kinetic energy falls. The total of all possible kinds of energy present in a substance is called the internal energy (U), sometimes symbolized as E.
As a system undergoes a change, its internal energy can change, and energy can be transferred from the system to the surroundings, or from the surroundings to the system. Energy is transferred into a system when it absorbs heat (q) from the surroundings or when the surroundings do work (w) on the system. For example, energy is transferred into room-temperature metal wire if it is immersed in hot water (the wire absorbs heat from the water), or if you rapidly bend the wire back and forth (the wire becomes warmer because of the work done on it). Both processes increase the internal energy of the wire, which is reflected in an increase in the wire’s temperature. Conversely, energy is transferred out of a system when heat is lost from the system, or when the system does work on the surroundings.
The relationship between internal energy, heat, and work can be represented by the equation:
<ΔU=q+w label5.4.1>
as shown in Figure (PageIndex1). This is one version of the first law of thermodynamics, and it shows that the internal energy of a system changes through heat flow into or out of the system (positive q is heat flow in; negative q is heat flow out) or work done on or by the system. The work, w, is positive if it is done on the system and negative if it is done by the system.
As discussed, the relationship between internal energy, heat, and work can be represented as ΔU = q + w. Internal energy is a type of quantity known as a state function (or state variable), whereas heat and work are not state functions. The value of a state function depends only on the state that a system is in, and not on how that state is reached. If a quantity is not a state function, then its value does depend on how the state is reached. An example of a state function is altitude or elevation. If you stand on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, you are at an altitude of 5895 m, and it does not matter whether you hiked there or parachuted there. The distance you traveled to the top of Kilimanjaro, however, is not a state function. You could climb to the summit by a direct route or by a more roundabout, circuitous path (Figure (PageIndex2)). The distances traveled would differ (distance is not a state function) but the elevation reached would be the same (altitude is a state function).