work,” both of which are problematic. Without good definitions, a theory of heat
and energy is destined to be a disappointment. A new theory of heat is developed
here with the formulation of acceptable definitions to be its minimum requirement.
I present the definitions of work, heat, energy, and a new term (to be introduced),
entropy growth potential, here first without explanation (which will be fully
accounted for by the end of Chap. 8):
• Work is energy in transit.
• Heat, as denoted by Q, is energy and entropy in transit; waste heat or heat in a
body (i.e., heat used as short for thermal internal energy) is high-entropy form of
energy.
• Energy is a conserved quantity that can be neither created nor destroyed; an
important characteristic of the quantity is its exergetic content, which is measured in terms of energy system’s capacity for doing work; though energy of a
system and its interacting surroundings cannot be destroyed, the
system-surroundings’ capacity for doing work is being lost incessantly.
• Entropy growth potential (EGP) is the driver of every event in a given Poincare
range; in the mechanical theory of heat (MTH, i.e., standard thermodynamics),
the “consumption” of heat and the “consumption” of energy are treated as
proxies of EGP, which is the real driver—the correct identification of the real
driver leads to, in departure from MTH, how we classify “energy conversion”
processes.
This essay will succeed in its goal if a reader in going through it has a good grasp
on the meaning of heat and energy as well as the two laws of thermodynamics.
1.1 Heat, Its Two Laws
When our ancestors learned to manipulate fire, they crossed the threshold from
beast to human and started off on the long journey seeking answers to those simple
questions that continue to haunt us: What is warmth and what is heat? How is heat
created? What heat can do for us or what we can do with heat? This essay tells a
story of heat, which is a long fascinating one, one that is still profoundly relevant to
today’s technologically ultra-modern society.
The key to this story of heat (or the science of thermodynamics) is two laws, the
first law and the second law: the first law of thermodynamics (the principle of
conservation of energy) asserts that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; the
second law of thermodynamics (the entropy principle) posits the unidirectionality
of the universe (in the sense that entropy always increases), or that the universe is
irreversible. The idea of energy conservation is an extremely useful concept with
the broadest application, and, generally, well understood by students of thermodynamics—with the singular exception of the aforementioned “precise meaning of
equivalence.” The idea of entropy growth is equally useful and profoundly
2
1 Introduction: Temperature and Some Comment on Work
and energy is destined to be a disappointment. A new theory of heat is developed
here with the formulation of acceptable definitions to be its minimum requirement.
I present the definitions of work, heat, energy, and a new term (to be introduced),
entropy growth potential, here first without explanation (which will be fully
accounted for by the end of Chap. 8):
• Work is energy in transit.
• Heat, as denoted by Q, is energy and entropy in transit; waste heat or heat in a
body (i.e., heat used as short for thermal internal energy) is high-entropy form of
energy.
• Energy is a conserved quantity that can be neither created nor destroyed; an
important characteristic of the quantity is its exergetic content, which is measured in terms of energy system’s capacity for doing work; though energy of a
system and its interacting surroundings cannot be destroyed, the
system-surroundings’ capacity for doing work is being lost incessantly.
• Entropy growth potential (EGP) is the driver of every event in a given Poincare
range; in the mechanical theory of heat (MTH, i.e., standard thermodynamics),
the “consumption” of heat and the “consumption” of energy are treated as
proxies of EGP, which is the real driver—the correct identification of the real
driver leads to, in departure from MTH, how we classify “energy conversion”
processes.
This essay will succeed in its goal if a reader in going through it has a good grasp
on the meaning of heat and energy as well as the two laws of thermodynamics.
1.1 Heat, Its Two Laws
When our ancestors learned to manipulate fire, they crossed the threshold from
beast to human and started off on the long journey seeking answers to those simple
questions that continue to haunt us: What is warmth and what is heat? How is heat
created? What heat can do for us or what we can do with heat? This essay tells a
story of heat, which is a long fascinating one, one that is still profoundly relevant to
today’s technologically ultra-modern society.
The key to this story of heat (or the science of thermodynamics) is two laws, the
first law and the second law: the first law of thermodynamics (the principle of
conservation of energy) asserts that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; the
second law of thermodynamics (the entropy principle) posits the unidirectionality
of the universe (in the sense that entropy always increases), or that the universe is
irreversible. The idea of energy conservation is an extremely useful concept with
the broadest application, and, generally, well understood by students of thermodynamics—with the singular exception of the aforementioned “precise meaning of
equivalence.” The idea of entropy growth is equally useful and profoundly
2
1 Introduction: Temperature and Some Comment on Work