Elite Engineer Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 We all know that 100% cannot be transferred from one system to another. However, what if different forms of energy can efficiently transfer more energy than others? For example: Can kinetic energy transfer more energy than chemical energy? Can Thermal energy transfer more than mechanical energy? Can electric energy transfer more efficently than magnetic energy etc. -Or is energy nondiscriminatory in all its forms, and transfers the same regardless of what form it is in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiot Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Or is energy nondiscriminatory in all its forms, and transfers the same regardless of what form it is in? Well what do you think? Have you taken several known examples of energy transfer and compared their efficiencies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite Engineer Posted May 18, 2013 Author Share Posted May 18, 2013 Have you taken several known examples of energy transfer and compared their efficiencies? Well no, I was hoping someone on here would have some theoretical knowledge of this or did some sort of related research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiot Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 So given the information I have offered, your thoughts are? Is an electric fire bar more efficient at converting energy to heat than a gasoline engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Efficiency depends on what you want to do with the energy, and the system you are using. Energy itself being efficient is a nonsensical statement. As studiot has implied, yes, some conversions are more efficient than others. That's why we use different machines for different applications. A resistive load is very efficient at converting electrical energy to thermal energy, while a system designed to do mechanical work is less efficient. But a resistor is exceedingly inefficient at doing mechanical work. Trivially, though, energy is a conserved quantity. No one system is better at it than another at transferring energy in general. e.g. a system with kinetic energy that comes to rest will transfer 100% of that energy into other forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdEarl Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Energy inefficiencies are generally measured as heat losses. But if your objective is to heat something and some energy is lost as radiant energy, the calculations are similar but the meaning is different. A laser light, (e.g., indicator lights on electronic equipment) are very efficient, and an automobile engine is very inefficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enthalpy Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Indicator lights are not made by lasers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiot Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 We all know that 100% cannot be transferred from one system to another. I do not know if this is a question about thermodynamics or ? It is perfectly possible to describe a physical system that converts 100% of its energy from one form to another in theory. A perfect pendulum is such a system, converting kinetic energy to potential energy and back again in an indefinite cycle. But the energy is not transferred from one system to another, it remains in the one system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdEarl Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Indicator lights are not made by lasers. True, but laser pointers are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elite Engineer Posted May 19, 2013 Author Share Posted May 19, 2013 I do not know if this is a question about thermodynamics or ? It is perfectly possible to describe a physical system that converts 100% of its energy from one form to another in theory. A perfect pendulum is such a system, converting kinetic energy to potential energy and back again in an indefinite cycle. But the energy is not transferred from one system to another, it remains in the one system. What I meant by not "not 100% of energy can be transfered" was like combustion in a cylinder. Radiant heat is lost (like was EdEarl said), and some of the energy is transferred to mechanical energy. But studiot, you may have answered my question. If kinetic energy can transfer 100% to potential energy, and transfer 100% of potential back into 100% (at least dealing with a pendulum-like system) kinetic energy, then I guess we could say kinetic-potential and vice versa in pendulum-like systems are the most energy efficient, as they conserve the most... right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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