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drpaladin

drpaladin 81,651

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Thermodynamics deals with the relations of heat to other forms of energy, like mechanical, electrical, and chemical.

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Paladin

Paladin 7,923

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My little bit of digging on the etymology if the word "Thermodynamics" turned up this in Wikipedia.

Thermodynamics has an intricate etymology.

By a surface-level analysis, the word consists of two parts that can be traced back to Ancient Greek. Firstly, thermo- ("of heat"; used in words such as thermometer) can be traced back to the root θέρμη therme, meaning "heat". Secondly, the word dynamics ("science of force [or power]") can be traced back to the root δύναμις dynamis, meaning "power".

In 1849, the adjective thermo-dynamic is used by William Thomson.

In 1854, the noun thermo-dynamics is used by Thomson and William Rankine to represent the science of generalized heat engines.

Pierre Perrot claims that the term thermodynamics was coined by James Joule in 1858 to designate the science of relations between heat and power, however, Joule never used that term, but used instead the term perfect thermo-dynamic engine in reference to Thomson's 1849 phraseology.

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drpaladin

drpaladin 81,651

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Thermodynamically speaking, the response to this Word of the Day is rather tepid so far.

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Bill W

Bill W 46,125

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Nuclear energy generation heavily relies on thermodynamics, as the process of converting the heat produced by nuclear fission into usable electricity is governed by the laws of thermodynamics, particularly the second law which limits the efficiency of the energy conversion process within a nuclear power plant.   
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sandrewn

sandrewn 22,236

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I have been trying to comment here since the disruption, without success. This has given me time to read all the other comments. It is embarrassing, but I will post it anyways.

Entry posted by Myr in Word of the Day 13 hours ago

The process was analyzed thermodynamically to ensure efficiency.

............

It must of been a very heated exchange.

 

:cowboy:

(at the time it seemed quite humorous to me, now, in reflection maybe a just a little bit funny? )

Edited by sandrewn
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drpaladin

drpaladin 81,651

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6 hours ago, Bill W said:
Nuclear energy generation heavily relies on thermodynamics, as the process of converting the heat produced by nuclear fission into usable electricity is governed by the laws of thermodynamics, particularly the second law which limits the efficiency of the energy conversion process within a nuclear power plant.   

Thermodynamic efficiency aside, nuclear is still king. More reliable and deliver maximum power 92% of the time. One nuclear plant replaces almost two coal/gas plants and three to four renewable plants with equal generation capacity.

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JamesSavik

JamesSavik 24,795

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What's hard for most people to grok about thermodynamics, or the way heat behaves, is that in every system, heat tries to achieve equilibrium. It sounds like a simple concept, but it is the ball-buster of physics students the world over.

Consider the case of running water into a bathtub on a cold morning. The water in the pipes is cold until the hot water from the water heater makes it to the faucet. Depending on how far away it is, the first gallon or two is cold and then the hot, steamy water makes it. Sometimes, you can literally see the convective currents in the water as it tries to find equilibrium. A fun experiment might be to drop a little ink in the water to better see what is happening.

The equations to figure out what the temperature of the water will be when 2 1/2 gallons of 40 degree water gets mixed with a dozen gallons of 110 degree water are quite elaborate, but most people aren't that thermodynamically sophisticated and simply put their foot in the water and stir it up.

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