STATEMENT-1: There is a natural asymmetry between converting work to heat and converting heat to work. and STATEMENT-2: No process is possible in which the sole result is the absorption of heat from a reservoir and its complete conversion into work. (A) STATEMENT-1 is True, STATEMENT-2 is True; STATEMENT-2 is a correct explanation for STATEMENT-1 (B) STATEMENT-1 is True, STATEMENT-2 is True; STATEMENT-2 is NOT a correct explanation for STATEMENT-1 (C) STATEMENT-1 is True, STATEMENT-2 is False (D) STATEMENT-1 is False, STATEMENT-2 is True

Thermodynamics is an essential branch of physics concerned with heat and temperature and their relation to energy and work. It is governed by four fundamental laws, which outline how these quantities behave under various circumstances and dictate the principles governing energy transfer.

At the heart of this field lies the concept of energy and its transformations. Energy can exist in multiple forms, such as kinetic, potential, thermal, electrical, chemical, and nuclear, and can be converted from one form to another. Thermodynamics studies these transformations and the rules that describe them, providing a framework to predict the energetic outcome of a system when conditions change.

The first law, often referred to as the law of energy conservation, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed or transferred. The second law, which is pivotal in our context, introduces the concept of entropy, a measure of disorder or randomness in a system, and asserts that in any energy transfer or transformation, total entropy will either increase or remain unchanged in an isolated system, not counting any energy entering or leaving the system.

The Kelvin-Planck statement is a formulation of the second law of thermodynamics. It postulates that it is impossible to construct a device that operates in a cycle to convert heat completely into work, without producing any other effect.

The statement targets the heart of heat engines, machines that convert heat energy into mechanical work. As per this principle, a heat engine must expel a portion of the absorbed heat to a cooler reservoir to continue its cycle of operation. This makes perfect energy conversion from heat to work an impossibility and is a fundamental concept to grasp for anyone studying thermodynamics.

This principle profoundly impacts the design and efficiency of real-world systems, from power plants to car engines. They all must adhere to this unwavering rule that makes the dream of a 100% efficient engine—one that transforms all of its fuel heat content into work—an unrealizable one, not due to technical limitations, but because of the fundamental laws of nature.

Energy conversion is the process of changing energy from one form to another. In the realm of thermodynamics, we regularly discuss the conversion of chemical energy in fuel into thermal energy by combustion, or the conversion of thermal energy into mechanical work in an engine.

While energy can be converted from form to form, the process is not always efficient. For instance, when electrical energy is converted to light energy in an incandescent bulb, most of the electrical energy becomes heat, not light. This inefficiency can vary widely, depending on the process and technology used.

Understanding energy conversion is vital, especially in discussing renewable energy sources versus fossil fuels. Renewable sources tend to have different conversion processes and efficiencies compared to traditional fuels. For instance, solar panels convert light directly into electrical energy, while wind turbines convert kinetic energy from wind into mechanical and then electrical energy.

Heat to work conversion is a specific type of energy transformation where thermal energy is used to produce mechanical work. This process is at the core of how heat engines operate, including steam turbines, combustion engines, and other similar devices.

However, as dictated by the Kelvin-Planck statement, not all the heat can be turned into work. What dictates the degree of conversion is the efficiency of the engine, which is always less than 100%. This is typically expressed as a ratio of the work output to the heat input.

The efficiency of this conversion is critically important for various applications: it affects the fuel economy in vehicles, the performance of power stations, and the overall sustainability of any system that relies on converting heat into work. An understanding of this concept is therefore not only academically important but also has vast practical applications in engineering and environmental science.