Internal energy
Internal energy (U) is the microscopic energy contained in a substance, given by the random disordered kinetic energy of the molecules inside, the potential energy between these molecules, and the nuclear energy contained in the atoms of these molecules.[2] Internal energy and thermal energy are very similar in a basic thermodynamic context, but the difference is that internal energy encompasses far more than just the kinetic energy of molecules. The potential energies between molecules and atoms is important for understanding phase changes, chemical reactions, nuclear reactions, and many more microscopic phenomena.
Macroscopic energy and microscopic energy are very similar in concept and are characteristic to any object in space, the main distinction is that microscopic energy cannot be seen. For example, a glass of water on a table has no apparent macroscopic energy, but on the microscopic scale it is a mass of high speed molecules traveling at hundreds of meters per second.[3]
The First law of thermodynamics states that the internal energy can be changed in a system by doing work on it, adding or removing heat from it, or a combination of the two. If the system is isolated it is forbidden from interactions with its surroundings, meaning that the internal energy cannot change.
References
- ↑ flyupmike, Pixabay [Online], Available: http://pixabay.com/p-475451/?no_redirect
- ↑ Randall Knight, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 3rd Ed. New York: Pearson, 2013, Ch. 17, p. 470.
- ↑ Hyperphysics, Internal energy [Online], Available: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/inteng.html