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Gouy-Stodola Theorem
In thermodynamics and thermal physics, the Gouy-Stodola theorem is an important theorem for the quantification of irreversibilities in an open system, and aids in the exergy analysis of thermodynamic processes. It asserts that the rate at which work is lost during a process, or at which exergy is destroyed, is proportional to the rate at which entropy is generated, and that the proportionality coefficient is the temperature of the ambient heat reservoir. In the literature, the theorem often appears in a slightly modified form, changing the proportionality coefficient. The theorem is named jointly after the French physicist Georges Gouy and Slovak physicist Aurel Stodola, who demonstrated the theorem in 1889 and 1905 respectively. Gouy used it while working on exergy and utilisable energy, and Stodola while working on steam and gas engines. Overview The Gouy-Stodola theorem is often applied upon an open thermodynamic system, which can exchange heat with some thermal rese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics which convey a quantitative description using measurable macroscopic physical quantities, but may be explained in terms of microscopic constituents by statistical mechanics. Thermodynamics applies to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering, especially physical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering, but also in other complex fields such as meteorology. Historically, thermodynamics developed out of a desire to increase the efficiency of early steam engines, particularly through the work of French physicist Sadi Carnot (1824) who believed that engine efficiency was the key that could help France win the Napoleonic Wars. Scots-Irish physicist Lord Kelvin was the first to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and even by industry. Further, both spellings are often used ''within'' a particular industry or country. Industries in British English-speaking countries typically use the "gauge" spelling. is the pressure relative to the ambient pressure. Various units are used to express pressure. Some of these derive from a unit of force divided by a unit of area; the SI unit of pressure, the pascal (Pa), for example, is one newton per square metre (N/m2); similarly, the pound-force per square inch ( psi) is the traditional unit of pressure in the imperial and U.S. customary systems. Pressure may also be expressed in terms of standard atmospheric pressure; the atmosphere (atm) is equal to this pressure, and the torr is defined as of this. Manome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life forms. Every cell consists of a cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane, and contains many biomolecules such as proteins, DNA and RNA, as well as many small molecules of nutrients and metabolites.Cell Movements and the Shaping of the Vertebrate Body in Chapter 21 of Molecular Biology of the Cell '' fourth edition, edited by Bruce Alberts (2002) published by Garland Science. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing s. It is also common ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations. Another major theme is evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life. Energy processing is also important to life as it allows organisms to move, grow, and reproduce. Finally, all organisms are able to regulate their own internal environments. Biologists are able to study life at multiple levels of organization, from the molecular biology of a cell to the anatomy and physiology of plants and animals, and evolution of populations.Based on definition from: Hence, there are multiple subdisciplines within biology, each defined by the nature of their research questions and the tools that they use. Like other scientists, biologists use t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and microbes. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosyst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Absorption Refrigerator
An absorption refrigerator is a refrigerator that uses a heat source (e.g., solar energy, a fossil-fueled flame, waste heat from factories, or district heating systems) to provide the energy needed to drive the cooling process. The system uses two coolants, the first of which performs evaporative cooling and is then absorbed into the second coolant; heat is needed to reset the two coolants to their initial states. The principle can also be used to air-condition buildings using the waste heat from a gas turbine or water heater. Using waste heat from a gas turbine makes the turbine very efficient because it first produces electricity, then hot water, and finally, air-conditioning— trigeneration. Absorption refrigerators are commonly used in recreational vehicles (RVs), campers, and caravans because the heat required to power them can be provided by a propane fuel burner, by a low-voltage DC electric heater (from a battery or vehicle electrical system) or by a mains-powered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vapor-compression Refrigeration
Vapour-compression refrigeration or vapor-compression refrigeration system (VCRS), in which the refrigerant undergoes phase changes, is one of the many refrigeration cycles and is the most widely used method for air conditioning of buildings and automobiles. It is also used in domestic and commercial refrigerators, large-scale warehouses for chilled or frozen storage of foods and meats, refrigerated trucks and railroad cars, and a host of other commercial and industrial services. Oil refineries, petrochemical and chemical processing plants, and natural gas processing plants are among the many types of industrial plants that often utilize large vapor-compression refrigeration systems. Cascade refrigeration systems may also be implemented using two compressors. Refrigeration may be defined as lowering the temperature of an enclosed space by removing heat from that space and transferring it elsewhere. A device that performs this function may also be called an air conditioner, re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heat Pump And Refrigeration Cycle
Thermodynamic heat pump cycles or refrigeration cycles are the conceptual and mathematical models for heat pump, air conditioning and refrigeration systems. A heat pump is a mechanical system that allows for the transmission of heat from one location (the "source") at a lower temperature to another location (the "sink" or "heat sink") at a higher temperature. Thus a heat pump may be thought of as a "heater" if the objective is to warm the heat sink (as when warming the inside of a home on a cold day), or a "refrigerator" or “cooler” if the objective is to cool the heat source (as in the normal operation of a freezer). In either case, the operating principles are similar. Heat is moved from a cold place to a warm place. Thermodynamic cycles According to the second law of thermodynamics, heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder location to a hotter area; work is required to achieve this. An air conditioner requires work to cool a living space, moving heat from the interi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steady State
In systems theory, a system or a process is in a steady state if the variables (called state variables) which define the behavior of the system or the process are unchanging in time. In continuous time, this means that for those properties ''p'' of the system, the partial derivative with respect to time is zero and remains so: : \frac = 0 \quad \text t. In discrete time, it means that the first difference of each property is zero and remains so: :p_t-p_=0 \quad \text t. The concept of a steady state has relevance in many fields, in particular thermodynamics, economics, and engineering. If a system is in a steady state, then the recently observed behavior of the system will continue into the future. In stochastic systems, the probabilities that various states will be repeated will remain constant. See for example Linear difference equation#Conversion to homogeneous form for the derivation of the steady state. In many systems, a steady state is not achieved until some tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Control Volume
In continuum mechanics and thermodynamics, a control volume (CV) is a mathematical abstraction employed in the process of creating mathematical models of physical processes. In an inertial frame of reference, it is a fictitious region of a given volume fixed in space or moving with constant flow velocity through which the continuum ( gas, liquid or solid) flows. The closed surface enclosing the region is referred to as the control surface. At steady state, a control volume can be thought of as an arbitrary volume in which the mass of the continuum remains constant. As a continuum moves through the control volume, the mass entering the control volume is equal to the mass leaving the control volume. At steady state, and in the absence of work and heat transfer, the energy within the control volume remains constant. It is analogous to the classical mechanics concept of the free body diagram. Overview Typically, to understand how a given physical law applies to the system under con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermodynamic Process
Classical thermodynamics considers three main kinds of thermodynamic process: (1) changes in a system, (2) cycles in a system, and (3) flow processes. (1)A Thermodynamic process is a process in which the thermodynamic state of a system is changed. A change in a system is defined by a passage from an initial to a final state of thermodynamic equilibrium. In classical thermodynamics, the actual course of the process is not the primary concern, and often is ignored. A state of thermodynamic equilibrium endures unchangingly unless it is interrupted by a thermodynamic operation that initiates a thermodynamic process. The equilibrium states are each respectively fully specified by a suitable set of thermodynamic state variables, that depend only on the current state of the system, not on the path taken by the processes that produce the state. In general, during the actual course of a thermodynamic process, the system may pass through physical states which are not describable as thermody ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flow Process
The region of space enclosed by open system boundaries is usually called a control volume. It may or may not correspond to physical walls. It is convenient to define the shape of the control volume so that all flow of matter, in or out, occurs perpendicular to its surface. One may consider a process in which the matter flowing into and out of the system is chemically homogeneous.Shavit, A., Gutfinger, C. (1995). ''Thermodynamics. From Concepts to Applications'', Prentice Hall, London, , Chapter 6. Then the inflowing matter performs work as if it were driving a piston of fluid into the system. Also, the system performs work as if it were driving out a piston of fluid. Through the system walls that do not pass matter, heat () and work () transfers may be defined, including shaft work. Classical thermodynamics considers processes for a system that is initially and finally in its own internal state of thermodynamic equilibrium, with no flow. This is feasible also under some restric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
