This week we got a new air conditioner installed in our living room. Thanks to the thermodynamics of the air conditioner, our living room is a lot cooler now. The air conditioner uses an adiabatic process to make the air in the room cool without a net heat transfer in the system. The first law of thermodynamics states that Q=W+ΔU. Therefore, in an adiabatic process, since there is no net heat transfer, the work done by the system is equal to the opposite of the change in internal energy. Work is positive, so that means that work is done by the system on the gas. The gas is alternately expanded and contracted to reduce the temperature of the air in the room. Well, the air conditioner will definitely be useful seeing as summer is slowly approacing...which also means that ap exams and the end of this class are near! Only a few more weeks of physics!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
New Air Conditioner
This week we got a new air conditioner installed in our living room. Thanks to the thermodynamics of the air conditioner, our living room is a lot cooler now. The air conditioner uses an adiabatic process to make the air in the room cool without a net heat transfer in the system. The first law of thermodynamics states that Q=W+ΔU. Therefore, in an adiabatic process, since there is no net heat transfer, the work done by the system is equal to the opposite of the change in internal energy. Work is positive, so that means that work is done by the system on the gas. The gas is alternately expanded and contracted to reduce the temperature of the air in the room. Well, the air conditioner will definitely be useful seeing as summer is slowly approacing...which also means that ap exams and the end of this class are near! Only a few more weeks of physics!
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