Question

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. If this is true then why are we always looking for new sources of energy? Use the 2nd law of thermodynamics to answer this question.

Answer 1

The first law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed. The second law explains that energy transfers involve a loss of usable energy, leading to disorder. Hence, we look for new energy sources to increase efficiency and reduce dependence on finite resources.

Step-by-step explanation:

The first law of thermodynamics states that the total amount of energy in the universe is constant, meaning that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only transferred or transformed. However, the second law of thermodynamics states that every energy transfer involves some loss of energy in an unusable form, such as heat, resulting in a more disordered system. This means that no energy transfer is completely efficient and tends toward disorder.

While energy cannot be created or destroyed, its availability for use decreases over time due to the inefficiency of energy transfers. This is why we constantly seek new sources of energy. For example, fossil fuels, which have been used as a primary source of energy, are non-renewable and contribute to environmental damage. By developing new sources of energy like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, we aim to utilize energy more efficiently and reduce our dependence on finite resources.

Answer 2

The second law of thermodynamics states in an isolated system, the entropy (the amount of thermal energy that cannot be converted into mechanical work, also known as the amount of disorder) always increases, therefore, an isolated system always require an external input (new sources) of energy for there to be orderliness or for the available energy of the system to remain constant or increase

Step-by-step explanation: