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In the history of science, the mechanical equivalent of heat states that motion and heat are mutually interchangeable and that in every case, a given amount of work would generate the same amount of heat, provided the work done is totally converted to heat energy.
The ancient Greek understanding of physics was limited to the statics of simple machines (the balance of forces), and did not include dynamics or the concept of work. During the Renaissance the dynamics of the Mechanical Powers, as the simple machines were called, began to be studied from the standpoint of how far they could lift a load, in addition to the force they could apply, leading ...
In 1802 lectures to the Royal Society, Thomas Young was the first to use the term energy to refer to kinetic energy in its modern sense, instead of vis viva. [3] In the 1807 publication of those lectures, he wrote, The product of the mass of a body into the square of its velocity may properly be termed its energy. [4]
10 8: 1.04 × 10 8 W tech: power producing capacity of the Niagara Power Plant, the first electrical power plant in history 1.4 × 10 8 W tech: average power consumption of a Boeing 747 passenger aircraft 1.9 × 10 8 W tech: peak power output of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier: 5 × 10 8 W tech: typical power output of a fossil fuel power ...
The work done on the system is defined and measured by changes in mechanical or quasi-mechanical variables external to the system. Physically, adiabatic transfer of energy as work requires the existence of adiabatic enclosures. For instance, in Joule's experiment, the initial system is a tank of water with a paddle wheel inside.
[5] [6] [7] Yablochkov candles required high voltage, and it was not long before experimenters reported that the arc lamps could be powered on a 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) circuit. [8] Within a decade scores of cities would have lighting systems using a central power plant that provided electricity to multiple customers via electrical transmission ...
Exergy, often referred to as "available energy" or "useful work potential", is a fundamental concept in the field of thermodynamics and engineering.It plays a crucial role in understanding and quantifying the quality of energy within a system and its potential to perform useful work.
1841 – Julius Robert von Mayer, an amateur scientist, writes a paper on the conservation of energy, but his lack of academic training leads to its rejection; 1842 – Mayer makes a connection between work, heat, and the human metabolism based on his observations of blood made while a ship's surgeon; he calculates the mechanical equivalent of heat