|
|
Article: Heat, work & the first law: from Savery at the mines to Joule's propeller, the understanding of thermodynamics proceeded step by thoughtful step.
- Article from:
- Mechanical Engineering-CIME
- Article date:
- March 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
That energy can neither be created nor destroyed is the first law of thermodynamics and, as far as anyone can observe or theorize, the law is in force throughout the universe. Marks' Practical Handbook for Mechanical Engineers calls the first law "one of the very important laws of nature."
Thermodynamics is an engineering science that evolved piecemeal over many years and with contributions from many investigators. A basic form of the first law for simple systems states that the increase in the internal energy of a system is equal to the quantity of heat transferred to the system reduced by the quantity of work done by the system. ...