Wasted Energy Flashcards

All 3 cards in this deck

Why do mechanical processes that involve friction waste energy?

Friction causes a rise in temperature, so energy is dissipated by heating the surroundings.

What happens to energy that is dissipated in a system change?

It is stored in less useful ways, usually as thermal energy in the surroundings.

In an electric motor lifting a load, what is the useful energy transfer and what is the wasted energy transfer?

Useful: energy transferred to the gravitational store of the load.
Wasted: heating of the motor and surroundings (and sound).