Imagine a special air filter placed in a window of a house. The tiny holes in the filter allow only air molecules moving faster than a certain speed to exit the house, and allow only air molecules moving slower than that speed to enter the house from outside. What effect would this filter have on the temperature inside the house? (It turns out that the second law of thermodynamics—which we will discuss in Chapter 20—tells us that such a wonderful air I filter would be impossible to make.)
Imagine a special air filter placed in a window of a house. The tiny holes in the filter allow only air molecules moving faster than a certain speed to exit the house, and allow only air molecules moving slower than that speed to enter the house from outside. What effect would this filter have on the temperature inside the house? (It turns out that the second law of thermodynamics—which we will discuss in Chapter 20—tells us that such a wonderful air I filter would be impossible to make.)
Imagine a special air filter placed in a window of a house. The tiny holes in the filter allow only air molecules moving faster than a certain speed to exit the house, and allow only air molecules moving slower than that speed to enter the house from outside. What effect would this filter have on the temperature inside the house? (It turns out that the second law of thermodynamics—which we will discuss in Chapter 20—tells us that such a wonderful air I filter would be impossible to make.)
You are watching a new bridge being built near your house. You notice during the construction that two concrete spans of the bridge of total length L, = 280 m are placed end to end so that no room is allowed for expansion (figure (a)). In the opening storyline for the thermodynamics chapter, we talked about buckling sidevalks. The same thing will happen with
spans on bridges if allowance is not made for expansion (figure (b)). You vwant to warn the construction crew about this dangerous situation, so you calculate the height y to which the spans will rise when they buckle in response to a temperature increase of AT = 21.0°c.
T+ AT
y =
In 1883, the volcano on Krakatau Island in the Pacific erupted violently in the largest explosion in Earth’s recorded history, destroying much of the island in the process. Global temperature measurements indicate that this explosion reduced the average temperature of Earth by about 1 degree Celsius during the next two decades. Why?
Note: The answer to this question might somehow be connected to the first law of thermodynamics. As much as possible, connect the answer to it.
Construct a table of all the possible combinations of numbers that can come up when you throw two dice. Your friend says, “Yes, I know that 7 is the most likely total number when two dice are thrown. But why 7?” Based on your table, answer your friend, and explain that, in thermodynamics, the situations that are likely to be observed are those that can be formed in the greatest number of ways.
Chapter 18 Solutions
University Physics with Modern Physics, Volume 2 (Chs. 21-37); Mastering Physics with Pearson eText -- ValuePack Access Card (14th Edition)
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The Second Law of Thermodynamics: Heat Flow, Entropy, and Microstates; Author: Professor Dave Explains;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrwW4w2nAMc;License: Standard YouTube License, CC-BY