The total amount of energy in the universe never changes, but the availability of each different type of energy to do work can change tremendously. What best explains this change in available energy?
a
Energy can only be created through nuclear reactions.
b
Energy is regularly changing from one form into another.
c
Energy is always converted with 100 percent efficiency.
d
Energy can only be transferred as heat.
b
Energy is regularly changing from one form into another.
The best explanation for the change in available energy is option b: Energy is regularly changing from one form into another. Energy can be converted from one form to another, such as thermal energy to mechanical energy or electrical energy to light energy. This conversion allows for the availability of different types of energy to change.
The best explanation for the change in available energy is option b: Energy is regularly changing from one form into another.
To understand this concept, it's essential to grasp the first law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of conservation of energy. According to this law, the total amount of energy in the universe remains constant, meaning energy cannot be created or destroyed. However, energy can change from one form to another.
Energy exists in various forms, such as thermal energy (heat), mechanical energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, and so on. These different forms of energy can be transformed or converted into one another. For instance, electrical energy can be converted into heat energy, or mechanical energy can be transformed into electrical energy.
Availability of energy depends on how it can be used to do work. The efficiency of these energy conversions plays a significant role in determining the availability of energy. Energy transformations are never 100 percent efficient, meaning some energy is always lost as waste heat, which cannot be used to do work.
So, while the total amount of energy in the universe stays constant, its availability to do work can change tremendously as energy is continuously converted from one form to another.