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An example of such an exchange would be an isentropic expansion or compression that entails work done on or by the flow. For an isentropic flow, entropy density can vary between different streamlines. If the entropy density is the same everywhere, then the flow is said to be homentropic.
Thermodynamic work is one of the principal kinds of process by which a thermodynamic system can interact with and transfer energy to its surroundings. This results in externally measurable macroscopic forces on the system's surroundings, which can cause mechanical work, to lift a weight, for example, [1] or cause changes in electromagnetic, [2] [3] [4] or gravitational [5] variables.
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 ...
Gravitational force is an example of a conservative force, while frictional force is an example of a non-conservative force. Other examples of conservative forces are: force in elastic spring, electrostatic force between two electric charges, and magnetic force between two magnetic poles. The last two forces are called central forces as they ...
Thus, half the work lifts the piston mass (work of gravity, or “useable” work), while the other half expands the surroundings. The results of these two process examples illustrate the difference between the fraction of heat converted to usable work (mgΔh) vs. the fraction converted to pressure-volume work done against the surrounding ...
An isothermal process is a type of thermodynamic process in which the temperature T of a system remains constant: ΔT = 0. This typically occurs when a system is in contact with an outside thermal reservoir, and a change in the system occurs slowly enough to allow the system to be continuously adjusted to the temperature of the reservoir through heat exchange (see quasi-equilibrium).
Virtual work is the total work done by the applied forces and the inertial forces of a mechanical system as it moves through a set of virtual displacements. When considering forces applied to a body in static equilibrium, the principle of least action requires the virtual work of these forces to be zero.
Should the work be added in such a way that friction or viscous forces are operating within the system, then the process is not isentropic, and if there is no phase change, then the temperature of the system will rise, the process is said to be "irreversible", and the work added to the system is not entirely recoverable in the form of work.