4.9.6

Second Law of Thermodynamics

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Second Law of Thermodynamics

The second law of thermodynamics dictates the direction of heat flow from objects at different temperatures.

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Second law in terms of heat transfer

  • The second law states that heat transfer occurs spontaneously from higher to lower temperature bodies.
  • Heat transfer never occurs spontaneously in the reverse direction.
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Second law examples

  • A cup of coffee left to sit out never gets warmer.
  • The heat energy from the coffee dissipates to the cup and its surroundings.

Entropy

Entropy is a measure of disorder. Entropy always increases during a reaction.

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Entropy

  • Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder a system has.
  • Entropy can also be thought of as a measure of how much energy is not available to do work.
  • Entropy is given by the equation:
    • ΔS=QT\Delta S= \frac{Q}{T}
  • Where Q is the work done on the process and T is the temperature.
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Examples of entropy

  • Ice has lower entropy than water as the H20 molecules in ice are arranged in a crystal structure.
  • Water is more disordered than ice as the molecules are free to move around.
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Second law in terms of entropy

  • The total entropy of a closed system either increases or remains constant in any process; it never decreases.
  • The second law of thermodynamics for entropy can be expressed as an equation:
    • ΔS0\Delta S \ge 0

Jump to other topics

1Principles of Science I

1.1Structure & Bonding

1.2Properties of Substances

1.3Cell Structure & Function

1.4Cell Specialisation

1.5Tissue Structure & Function

1.6Working with Waves

1.7Waves in Communication

2Practical Scientific Procedures and Techniques

3Science Investigation Skills

4Principles of Science II

4.1Extracting Elements

4.2Relating Properties to use of Substances

4.3Organic Chemistry

4.4Energy Changes in Industry

4.5The Circulatory System

4.6Ventilation & Gas Exchange

4.7Urinary System

4.8Cell Transport

4.9Thermal Physics

4.10Materials

4.11Fluids

5Contemporary Issues in Science

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