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Thelawofconservationofenergy:Asimpleintroduction

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Theconservationofenergy
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11/30/2016

Thelawofconservationofenergy:Asimpleintroduction

byChrisWoodford.Lastupdated:October31,2016.
Gobbledownfivebananasandyou'llhaveenoughenergytoswimforaboutanhour.That'sbecauseyourbody
isacomplexmachinecapableofturningonekindofenergy(food)intoanotherkind(movement).Carscanpull
offthesametrick.Dependingonwhichmakeandmodelyouown,youprobablyknowthatitdoessomany
kilometersormilestothegalloninotherwords,usingacertainamountofenergyrichgasoline,itcantransport
you(andamoderateload)acertaindistancedowntheroad.Whatwehaveherearetwoexamplesofmachines
thehumanbodyandtheautomobilethatobeyoneofthemostimportantlawsofphysics:theconservation
ofenergy.Writteninitssimplestform,itsaysthatyoucan'tcreateordestroyenergy,butyoucanconvertitfrom
oneformintoanother.Prettymucheverythingthathappensintheuniverseobeysthisfundamentallaw.But
why,andwhatuseisitanyway?Let'stakeacloserlook!
Photo:Theconservationofenergy:Walkupstairsandyouhavemorepotentialenergywhenyougettothetop
thanyouhadatthebottombutyouhaven'tcreatedenergyoutofthinair.Themusclesinyourbodyhaveto
workagainsttheforceofgravitytomoveyouupwardsandyourbodylosesenergy(thatitmadefromfood)asit
climbs.Thisistheenergythatyourbodyregainsaspotentialenergy.

Whatistheconservationofenergy?
Thefirstthingweneedtonoteisthatthelawofconservationofenergyiscompletelydifferentfromenergy
conservation.Energyconservationmeanssavingenergythroughsuchthingsasinsulatingyourhomeorusing
publictransportationgenerallyitsavesyoumoneyandhelpstheplanet.Theconservationofenergyhasnothing
todowithsavingenergy:it'sallaboutwhereenergycomesfromandwhereitgoes.
Writethelawformallyanditsoundslikethis:
Inaclosedsystem,theamountofenergyisfixed.Youcan'tcreateanymoreenergyinsidethe
systemordestroyanyoftheenergythat'salreadyinthere.Butyoucanconverttheenergyyouhave
fromoneformtoanother(andsometimesbackagain).
A"closedsystem"isabitlikeasealedboxaroundwhateverwe'restudying:noenergycanleakintothebox
fromtheinside(orbeintroducedtotheboxfromoutside).
Therearesomeevensimpler,morefamiliarwaysofstatingtheconservationofenergy."Nopain,nogain"isa
rougheverydayequivalent:ifyouwantsomething,youhavetoworkforit."There'snosuchthingasafree
lunch"and"Youdon'tgetanythingforfree"areotherexamples.

Examplesoftheconservationofenergy
Theconservationofenergy(andtheideaofa"closedsystem")soundsabitabstract,butitbecomesanawfullot
clearerwhenweconsidersomereallifeexamples.

Drivingacar
Fillacarupwithgasolineandyouhaveaclosedsystem.Alltheenergyyouhaveatyourdisposalislocked
insidethegasinyourtankinchemicalform.Whenthegasflowsintoyourengine,itburnswithoxygeninthe
air.Thechemicalenergyinthegasisconvertedfirstintoheatenergy:theburningfuelmakeshotexpandinggas,
whichpushesthepistonsintheenginecylinders.Inthisway,theheatisconvertedintomechanicalenergy.The
pistonsturnthecrankshaft,gears,anddriveshaftandeventuallythecar'swheels.Asthewheelsturn,they
speedthevehiclealongtheroad,givingitkineticenergy(energyofmovement).
Ifacarwere100percentefficient,allthechemicalenergyoriginallylockedinsidethegasolinewouldbe
convertedintokineticenergy.Unfortunately,energyiswastedateachstageofthisprocess.Someislostto
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Thelawofconservationofenergy:Asimpleintroduction

frictionwhenmetalpartsrubandwearagainstoneanotherandheatupsomeenergyislostassound(carscan
bequitenoisyandsoundisenergythathastocomefromsomewhere)Notalltheenergythecarproduces
movesyoudowntheroad:quitealothastopushagainsttheair(soit'slosttoairresistanceordrag),whilesome
willbeusedtopowerthingsliketheheadlights,airconditioning,andsoon.Nevertheless,ifyoumeasurethe
energyyoustartwith(inthegasoline)andcalculatehowmuchenergyyoufinishwithandloseontheway
(everythingfromusefulkineticenergyanduselessenergylosttofriction,sound,airresistance,andsoon),you'll
findtheenergyaccountalwaysbalances:theenergyyoustartwithistheenergyyoufinishwith.

Nowthisonlyappliesifyourcarisa"closedsystem."Ifyou'redrivingalongthestraightandtheroadsuddenly
startsgoingdownhill,you'regoingtobeabletogomuchfurtherthanyou'dbeabletogootherwise.Doesthis
violatetheconservationofenergy?No,becausewe'renolongerdealingwithaclosedsystem.Yourcaris
gainingkineticenergyfromthegasolineinitstank,butit'salsogainingkineticenergybecauseit'sgoing
downhill.Thisisn'taclosedsystemsotheconservationofenergydoesn'tapplyanymore.
Artwork:Likeeverythingelse,carsmustobeythelawofconservationofenergy.Theyconverttheenergyin
fuelintomechanicalenergythatmovesyoudowntheroad,butwastequitealotofenergyintheprocess.Ifyou
put100unitsofenergyintoacar(intheformoffuel),only15unitsorsomoveyoudowntheroad.Therestis
wastedasheatlossesintheengine(74percent)parasiticlosses(6%,makingelectricity,forexample,tolight
theheadlamps)anddrivetrainlosses(5%,sendingpowertothewheels).The15usefulunitsofenergyareused
toovercomedrag(airresistance),friction(inthebrakes),androllingresistance(inthetires).Everybitofenergy
weputintoacarhastogosomewhere,sotheenergyoutputs(74%+6%+5%+15%)mustalwaysexactlyadd
uptotheoriginalenergyinput(100%).FiguresforcitydrivingfromWheretheenergygoes,fueleconomy.gov.

Boilingakettle

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Boilwaterwithanelectrickettleandyou'reseeingtheconservationofenergyatworkagain.Electricalenergy
drawnfromthepoweroutletonyourwallflowsintotheheatingelementinthebaseofyourkettle.Asthe
currentflowsthroughtheelement,theelementrapidlyheatsup,sotheelectricalenergyisconvertedintoheat
energythatgetspassedtothecoldwatersurroundingit.Afteracoupleofminutes,thewaterboilsand(ifthe
powerstayson)startstoturntosteam.Howdoestheconservationofenergyapplyhere?Mostoftheelectrical
energythatentersthekettleisconvertedintoheatenergyinthewater,thoughsomeisusedtoprovidelatentheat
ofevaporation(theheatweneedtogivetoliquidstoturnthemintogasessuchassteam).Ifyouaddupthetotal
electricalenergy"lost"bytheelectricitysupplyandthetotalenergygainedbythewater,youshouldfindthey're
almostexactlythesame.Whyaren'ttheyexactlyequal?Simplybecausewedon'thaveaclosedsystemhere.
Someoftheoriginalenergyisconvertedtosoundandwasted(kettlescanbequitenoisy).Kettlesalsogiveoff
someheattotheirsurroundingssothat'salsowastedenergy.
Photo:Anelectrickettlelikethisconvertselectricalenergyintoheatenergy.That'sthereverseoftheprocess
thathappensinthepowerplantthatsuppliesyourhome,whereelectricityisproducedusingheatenergy
releasedbyburningafuelsuchascoal,oil,orgas.

Pushingacaruphill
Intheeverydayworld,"work"issomethingyoudotoearnmoneyinphysics,workhasadifferentmeaning.
Whenyoudoausefuljobwithaforce(apushorapull),suchasmovingacaruphill,wesayyou'redoingwork,
andthattakesenergy.Ifyoupushacaruphill,ithasmorepotentialenergyatthetopofthehillthanithadatthe
bottom.Haveyouviolatedtheconservationofenergybycreatingpotentialenergyoutofthinair?
No!Topushthecar,youhavetodoworkagainsttheforceofgravity.Yourbodyhastouseenergytodowork.
Mostoftheenergyyourbodyusesisgainedbythecarasyoupushituphill.Theenergyyourbodylosesis
prettymuchequaltotheworkitdoesagainstgravity.Andtheenergythecargainsisthesameastheworkdone.
Sonoenergyiscreatedordestroyedhere:you'resimplyconvertingenergystoredasfuelinsideyourbodyinto
potentialenergystoredbythecar(becauseofitsheight).

Whodiscoveredtheconservationofenergy?
Howdoweknowtheconservationofenergyistrue?First,itsoundssensible.Ifyouputaheavylogonafireit
mightburnforanhour.Ifyouputasecondlog,roughlythesamesize,onthefire,it'sreasonabletosuppose
you'llgettwiceasmuchheatorthefirewillburntwiceaslong.Bythesametoken,iffivebananascansupply
yourbodywithanhour'senergy,tenbananasshouldkeepyourunningfortwohoursalthoughyoumightnot
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enjoyguzzlingthemallatonce!Inotherwords,theenergyin(thelogsyouaddtothefireorthebananasyou
eat)isequaltotheenergyout(theheatyougetbyburninglogsortheenergyyoumakebyeatingbananas).

Reasonableguessworkdoesn'tquitecutthemustardinscience.Really,weneedtobesurethattheenergywe
startwithinaclosedsystemisthesameastheenergyweendupwith.Sohowdoweknowthis?Oneofthefirst
peopletoconfirmthelawofconservationofenergyexperimentallywasEnglishphysicistJamesPrescottJoule
(18181889),whousedaningeniousbitofapparatustofindwhathecalled"themechanicalequivalentofheat."
Heusedafallingweighttodrivealargepaddlewheelsealedinsideacontainerofwater.Hecalculatedthe
potentialenergyoftheweight(theenergyithadbecauseofitsheightaboveEarth)andreasonedthat,asthe
weightfell,ittransferredprettymuchallitsenergytokineticenergyinthepaddlewheel.Asthepaddlewheel
turned,itstirredthewaterinthecontainerandwarmeditupbyasmallbutsignificantamount.Nowweknow
howmuchenergyittakestowarmacertainmassofwaterbyacertainnumberofdegrees,soJoulewasableto
figureouthowmuchenergythewaterhadgained.Tohisdelight,hefoundoutthatthisfigureexactlymatched
theenergylostbythefallingweight.Joule'sbrilliantworkonenergywasrecognizedwhentheinternational
scientificunitofenergy(thejoule)wasnamedforhim.
Photo:TheMechanicalEquivalentofHeat:InJamesPrescottJoule'sfamousexperiment,afallingweight(1)
pullsonaropethatpassesoverapulley(2).Theropespinsanaxle(3)thatturnsapaddleinsideasealed
containerofwater(4).Asthepaddlespins,thewaterheatsup.Jouleprovedthattheheatenergygainedbythe
waterwasexactlythesameasthepotentialenergylostbytheweight.

Whyperpetualmotionmachinesneverwork

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Backinthe19thcentury,charlataninventorswouldpopupfromtimetotimeshowingoffmiraclemachinesthat
seemedtobeabletodrivethemselvesforever.Inventionslikethisarecalledperpetualmotionmachines:they
seemtobeabletomoveforeverwithoutanyoneaddinganymoreenergy.Often,machineslikethiswereblatant
tricks:themechanismswerepoweredbyaconcealedassistantwhosatintheshadowsturningahiddenhandle!
Someofthemachinessoundplausible,butallofthemunfortunatelyfallfouloftheconservationofenergy.
Inoneversionofperpetualmotion,illustratedhere,water(1)tipsdownontoawaterwheel,turningitaround(2).
Theturningwheeldrivesgears(3)thatpoweranArchimedesscrew,whichliftsthewaterbackuptothetop,
theoreticallyallowingthewholecycletorepeatitselfforever.Althoughyoumightthinkenergyisbeing
recycledasthewatermovesaround,it'salsobeinglostallthetime.Thewateratthetophaspotentialenergyand
thatcanindeeddriveawaterwheelasitfalls.Butsomeenergywillbelosttofrictionasthewheelturns.More
energywillbelosttofrictioninthegearsandthescrew.So,betweenthem,thewheel,gears,andscrewwillnot
havethesameamountofenergyasthepotentialenergythewaterlostoriginally.Thatmeansthescrewcannot
liftasasmuchwaterbacktothebathasfelldownfromitoriginallysothemachinewillveryquicklycometo
astop.

Findoutmore
TheMuseumofUnworkableDevices:Anexcellentwebsiteaboutperpetualmotionmachines(andsimilar
unworkabledevices)compiledbyDonaldE.Simanek,formerprofessorofphysicsatLockhaven
University.

Whatabouttheconservationofmass?
Nuclearreactionsseemtocreateenergyoutofnothingbreakinguporjoiningtogetheratoms.Dotheyviolate
theconservationofenergy?No!
AlbertEinstein'sfamousequationE=mc2showsthatenergyandmassaredifferentformsofthesamething.
Looselyspeaking,youcanconvertasmallamountofmassintoalargeamountofenergy(asinanuclearpower
plant,wherelargeatomssplitapartandgiveoffenergyintheprocess).Einstein'sequationshowsuswe
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sometimesneedtofactormassintotheconservationofenergy.Inanuclearreaction,westartoffwithonesetof
atoms(acertainamountofenergyintheformofmass)andendupwithadifferentsetofatoms(adifferent
amountofenergylockedintheirmass)plusenergythat'sreleasedasheat.Ifwefactorinthemassoftheatoms
beforeandafterthereaction,plustheenergyreleasedintheprocess,wefindtheconservationofenergyis
satisfiedexactly.Sincemassisaformofenergy,it'sclearthatwecan'tdestroymassorcreateitoutofnothingin
thesamewaythatwecan'tcreateordestroyenergy.You'llsometimesseethisreferredtoastheconservationof
mass.
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Onthiswebsite
Atomicenergy
Atoms
Energy

Onotherwebsites
TheMechanicalEquivalentofHeat:AgoodWikipediaarticleaboutJamesPrescottJoule'sfamous
experiment.
TheConservationofEnergy:InthisshortvideoclipfromhisMITlectures,ProfessorWalterLewin
demonstratesveryimpressivelythatyoucan'tfinishupwithmoreenergythanyoustartedoffwith.
Luckilyforhim,asitturnsout!

Books
Foryoungerreaders
EnergybyChrisWoodford.DorlingKindersley,2007.Myowncolorfulintroductionexplainswhatenergy
is,whereitcomesfrom,andhowweuseitinoureverydaylives.Ages912.
EyewitnessEnergybyJackChalloner.DorlingKindersley,2000.Asimpleintroductiontothescience,
technology,andhistoryofenergy.Ages912.
PowerandEnergybyChrisWoodford.FactsonFile.Thislongerbookofmineisahistoryofhuman
effortstoharnessenergy,fromancienttechnologieslikewaterpowertothelatestformsofrenewable
energy.Suitableformostreadersfromaboutages10upward.
Forolderreaders
GreatExperimentsinPhysics:FirsthandAccountsfromGalileotoEinsteinbyMorrisH.Shamos.Dover,
1959/1987.Thisutterlywonderfulbook(oneofmyfavoritebooksever!)containsreprintsofpapers
reportingmanyofthegreatestphysicsexperimentsofalltime,including"Chapter12.TheMechanical
EquivalentofHeat"byJamesPrescottJoule.YoumaybeabletoreadthewholepaperviaGoogleBooks
ifyouscrollthroughtopage166.
SixEasyPiecesbyRichardFeynman.BasicBooks,2011.Chapter4isaclear,simple,theoretical
explanationoftheconservationofenergy.
Sponsoredlinks
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Citethispage
Woodford,Chris.(2012/2015)Conservationofenergy.Retrievedfrom
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/conservationofenergy.html.[Accessed(Insertdatehere)]

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