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Chapter 12: Q6 CP (page 485)

You see a movie in which a shallow puddle of water coalesces into a perfectly cubical ice cube. How do you know the movie is being played backwards? Otherwise, what physical principle would be violated?

Short Answer

Expert verified

A violation of the second rule of thermodynamics would be very unlikely; the entropy of the Universe is lowered as a result of this process.

Step by step solution

01

Concept of the second law of thermodynamics

More and more energy is lost in the process of converting a source of heat into a new one.

A thermodynamic law is one of four that define the connection between thermal energy (heat), as well as other types of energy, and how they interact with matter.

02

Evaluating entropy

Entropy is the method for determining the level of order in a system if we increase the entropy of any system, the change in the thermodynamic system's state of disorder that occurs when heat or enthalpy is converted into work.

Thus, the second law of thermodynamics will be violated.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

This question follows the entire chain of reasoning involved in determining the specific heat of an Einstein solid. Start with two metal blocks, one consisting of one mole of aluminum (27 g) and the other of one mole of lead (207 g), both initially at a temperature very near absolute zero (0 K). From measurements of Young’s modulus one finds that the effective stiffness of the interatomic bond modeled as a spring is 16N/mfor aluminum and 5 N/m for lead. (a) Is the number of quantized oscillators in the aluminum block greater, smaller, or the same as the number in the lead block? (b) What is the initial entropy of each block? (c) In which metal is the energy spacing of the quantized harmonic oscillators larger? (d) If we add 1 J of energy to each block, which metal now has the larger number of energy quanta? (e) In which block is the number of possible ways of arranging this of energy greater? (f) Which block now has the larger entropy? (g) Which block experienced a greater entropy change? (h) Which block experienced the larger temperature change? (i) Which metal has the larger specific heat at low temperatures? (j) Does your conclusion agree with the actual data given in Figure 12.33? (The numerical data are given in a table accompanying Problem P64.)

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