Wasted Energy Flashcards

All 5 cards in this deck

What does it mean to say energy is dissipated?

It is transferred to less useful stores, usually the thermal store of the surroundings, and spreads out so it cannot be used.

What makes a mechanical process wasteful?

Friction between moving parts causes a temperature rise, so energy is dissipated by heating the surroundings instead of being transferred usefully.

Which energy store is wasted energy usually transferred to?

The thermal store of the surroundings.
e.g. a filament lamp heats the air around it as well as giving out light.

True or false? Wasted energy is destroyed.

False. Energy is never destroyed — it is dissipated to less useful stores, mainly heating the surroundings.

True or false? In every system change, some energy is dissipated so that it is stored in less useful ways.

True. No real energy transfer is completely useful.