Thermodynamics is widely applicable to our daily experiences especially with does involving heat and work. An example of a phenomenon that we encountered in real life is when ice is added to a glass of warm beverage like soda. In this case, the first and second law of thermodynamics are applied. The first law states that energy is conserved. Therefore, energy is neither created nor destroyed. To illustrate this example, let us consider the example previously mentioned. If the ice stays on the glass of warm soda, it will melt after some time. As the ice melts, the temperature of the soda increases. If we look into the total amount of heat in the system, it can be seen that it is the same from when the ice is initially put to the point that it has melted. What happened is that the heat from the soda is transferred to the ice. This happens until the system reaches equilibrium, that is, when the temperature between the soda and the ice, which turned into water, is the same. This example also exhibits the application of the second law. The second law of thermodynamics describes that energy flows from higher concentrations to lower concentrations. This is shown in the example when heat flows from the soda (higher concentration) to the ice (lower concentration). Another phenomenon that describes thermodynamics is when the body of the people in a small crowded room is sweating. In this case, the situation makes the people feel very warm. The body produces sweat to cool itself off. In this process, the heat from the body is transferred to the sweat. The sweat evaporates from the body when it absorbs more heat. From this example, we can see that heat is not lost but was transferred instead.
The second law also describe that the entropy in a system is constantly increasing. For example, a frying pan is heated. As the heat is transferred into the pan, the atoms in it are moving very rapidly and become highly disordered. As the heat is transferred the entropy also increases.
The principles of thermodynamics are also essential in designing things that we need. A refrigerator is one of the useful things that are design using the principles of thermodynamics. In the case of the operation of a refrigerator, heat flows in a reverse cycle. That is, heat moves from low concentrations to higher concentrations. To make this possible, work is required. A refrigerant acts as a medium to transfer energy. The refrigerant moves through different devices in the refrigerator that raises and lowers the temperature. The process starts when the refrigerant passed through a turbine that lowers the internal energy. In this process, the refrigerant does work. The temperature of the refrigerant is lowered until it is lower than the temperature of air inside the refrigerator. Since the refrigerant has lower temperature, the heat from the food or the air from the refrigerator is then transferred to the refrigerant. Therefore, the temperature of the refrigerant increases again. The compressor that does work also increases the internal energy of the refrigerant. After which, the refrigerant passed through a heat exchanger that transfer the heat to the surroundings. Therefore, this will be lowering the temperature of the refrigerant. Then, the refrigerant passed through the turbine and the cycle repeats (“Applications of the First Law to Heat Engines”).
Work Cited
“Applications of the First Law to Heat Engines.” MIT OpenCourseWare n.d. Web. 1 March 2016.
