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Unlocking the perpetual motion machine

A) requires overcoming the law of conservation of energy
B) involves harnessing unlimited energy from natural sources
C) is a theoretical possibility according to current physics
D) necessitates perpetual motion in a closed system

User Harvey Lin
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Final answer:

A perpetual motion machine is unlikely to be constructed due to the laws of thermodynamics, specifically the first law of thermodynamics and the second law of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, while the second law states that useful energy tends to be converted into less useful forms over time.

Step-by-step explanation:

A perpetual motion machine refers to a hypothetical machine that operates or produces useful work indefinitely, or produces more work or energy than it consumes. However, such a machine is not likely to be constructed due to the laws of thermodynamics, specifically the first law of thermodynamics and the second law of thermodynamics.

The first law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of conservation of energy, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or converted from one form to another. Therefore, for a perpetual motion machine to exist, it would have to generate energy without consuming any, which goes against this fundamental principle.

The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy, or disorder, of an isolated system always increases over time. In other words, useful energy tends to be converted into less useful forms, such as heat. This means that even if a machine managed to produce more work or energy than it consumes, the excess energy would eventually be dissipated as heat, resulting in a net loss of useful energy.

User Shabbir Bata
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