Review for Exam #3 (Physics)

HONORS PS 1500 - PHYSICS IN THE PLAYS OF TOM STOPPARD

Review for Exam #3 (Physics)

energy

kinetic energy

elastic and inelastic collisions

work

potential energy

kinds of potential energy

gravitational PE
spring, elastic, and chemical PE (all of these are ultimately due to electric charges)
Note: the book is wrong when it includes nuclear energy as a form of potential energy (on p. 103)

E = mc² (mass can be converted back and forth into energy; the conversion factor is the square of the speed of light; this includes nuclear energy)

heat (thermal energy, the KE of randomly moving atoms or molecules)

caloric theory of heat

Newcomen engine

Joule's experiment converting work into heat (the mechanical equivalent of heat)

temperature (but not thermometers)

thermal equilibrium

forms of energy

the concept of energy and changes in energy

first law of thermodynamics (three equivalent statements)

the total energy of an isolated system remains constant (the law of conservation of energy)
change in energy of a system = energy in - energy out
for a heat engine, heat input –> work and waste heat, so Q_h = W + Q_c

second law of thermodynamics (three equivalent statements)

in an isolated system, heat always flows from hot to cold
there is no heat engine that will convert input heat completely into work; there is always some waste heat
in an isolated system, the entropy never decreases

third law of thermodynamics (it is impossible to reach a temperature of absolute zero)

efficiency of a heat engine: e = work / heat input

Carnot engine (maximum efficiency e_max = 1 - T_c / T_h)

absolute zero (coldest temperature possible) and the Kelvin scale

entropy, disorder, and probability

equilibrium (most probable) distribution

"time's arrow"

"heat death" of the universe

chaos theory (extreme sensitivity to initial conditions)

algorithm

iteration and feedback

Last modified: Thursday, March 05, 2009 11:01 AM