A dinner plate drops and breaks. This best illustrates the ______ law of THERMODYNAMICS
A. 1st
b. 2nd
c. 3rd
d. 4th
The correct answer is: c. 3rd law of thermodynamics.
To understand why the third law of thermodynamics applies to a dinner plate breaking, we need to know what the third law of thermodynamics actually states.
The third law of thermodynamics, also known as the Nernst heat theorem, states that as the temperature approaches absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15 degrees Celsius), the entropy of a pure crystalline substance also approaches zero. In simpler terms, it suggests that at absolute zero, there is no disorder or randomness in a system.
In the case of the dinner plate breaking, the shattering of the plate represents an increase in the disorder or randomness of the system. The plate, which was once a structured and organized object, is now fragmented and scattered. The increase in disorder violates the principles of the third law of thermodynamics, where the entropy should ideally approach zero at absolute zero temperature.
Therefore, the breaking of a dinner plate illustrates the violation of the third law of thermodynamics.