PERPETUAL FUTILITY

L.Praveenkumar, T.N.Saravanakumar

Perpetual motion:

Perpetual motion describes hypothetical machines that operate or produce

useful work indefinitely and, more generally, hypothetical machines that produce
more work or energy than they consume, whether they might operate indefinitely
or not.There is undisputed scientific consensus that perpetual motion would violate
either the first law of thermodynamics, the second law of thermodynamics, or both.
Machines which comply with both laws of thermodynamics but access energy
from obscure sources are sometimes referred to as perpetual motion machines,
although they do not meet the standard criteria for the name.Machines which
extract energy from seemingly perpetual sources - such as ocean currents - are
indeed capable of moving "perpetually" until that energy source runs down. They
are not considered to be perpetual motion machines because they are consuming
energy from an external source and are not isolated systems.

Impossibility:

The conservation laws are particularly robust from a mathematical

perspective.Noether's theorem, which was proven mathematically in 1915, states
that any conservation law can be derived from a corresponding continuous
symmetry of the action of a physical system. For example, if the true laws of
physics remain invariant over time then the conservation of energy follows. On the
other hand, if the conservation laws are invalid, then the foundations of physics
would need to change.

The principles of thermodynamics are so well established, both theoretically and

experimentally, that proposals for perpetual motion machines are universally met
with disbelief on the part of physicists. Any proposed perpetual motion design
offers a potentially instructive challenge to physicists: one is certain that it cannot
work, so one must explain how it fails to work. The difficulty (and the value) of
such an exercise depends on the subtlety of the proposal; the best ones tend to arise
from physicists' own thought experiments and often shed light upon certain aspects
of physics. So, for example, the thought experiment of a Brownian ratchet as a
perpetual motion machine was first discussed by Gabriel Lippmann in 1900 but it
was not until 1912 that Marian Smoluchowski gave an adequate explanation for
why it cannot work. However, during that twelve-year period scientists did not
believe that the machine was possible. They were merely unaware of the exact
mechanism by which it would inevitably fail.
“The law that entropy always increases, holds, I think, the
supreme position among the laws of Nature. If someone points out to
you that your pet theory of the universe is in disagreement with
Maxwell's equations — then so much the worse for Maxwell's
equations. If it is found to be contradicted by observation — well,
these experimentalists do bungle things sometimes. But if your theory
is found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give
you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest
humiliation.”
—Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington

Classification:

1. Perpetual motion machine of first kind

2. Perpetual motion machine of second kind

Perpetual motion machine of first kind:

• A perpetual motion machine of the first kind produces work without

the input of energy. It thus violates the first law of thermodynamics: the law
of conservation of energy.

• The law of conservation of energy is an empirical law of physics. It states

that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over.
A consequence of this law is that energy can neither be created nor
destroyed: it can only be transformed from one state to another.

• Hence, it is impossible for a machine to do the work infinitely without

consuming energy.
Examples:

Overbalanced wheel

 The "Overbalanced Wheel". It was thought that the metal balls on the right
side would turn the wheel because of the longer lever arm.
 But! Since the left side had more balls than the right side, the torque was
balanced and the perpetual movement could not be achieved.

The capillary bowl

  The "Capillary Bowl". It was thought that the capillary action would keep
the water flowing in the tube.
 But since the cohesion force that draws the liquid up the tube in the first
place holds the droplet from releasing into the bowl, the flow is not
perpetual.

Perpetual motion machine of second kind:

 A perpetual motion machine of the second kind is a machine which

spontaneously converts thermal energy into mechanical work. When the
thermal energy is equivalent to the work done, this does not violate the
law of conservation of energy. However it does violate the more subtle
second law of thermodynamics.
 The signature of a perpetual motion machine of the second kind is that
there is only one heat reservoir involved, which is being spontaneously
cooled without involving a transfer of heat to a cooler reservoir. This
conversion of heat into useful work, without any side effect, is
impossible, according to the second law of thermodynamics.

Examples:

Carnot heat engine

 Carnot engine diagram (modern) - where heat flows from a high temperature
TH furnace through the fluid of the "working body" (working substance) and
into the cold sink TC, thus forcing the working substance to do mechanical
work W on the surroundings, via cycles of contractions and expansions.

Second law of thermodynamics

 Second Law of Thermodynamics: It is impossible to extract an amount of

heat QH from a hot reservoir and use it all to do work.
 Some amount of heat QC must be exhausted to a cold reservoir. This
precludes a perfect heat engine.

Conclusion

Although the perpetual motion machine has been proved a failure, people still
attempt to improve their way to use energy.We try to decrease the energy
wasted during the processes of energy transaction and transportation so that we
can use it more effectively.