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Re: What Flows?



Joel, there are some on this list that know if this button is pressed too
many times, I will start yelling at my computer screen -- I do not
understand why the topic persists -- someone please help me out here -- it
will not help for Luddites to rehearse how nice it was in the 19th C. --
Would someone explain T#1 to me, a very simple fellow, in very clear an
simple terms. Disinterested parties should not read further. (:-)

At 02:32 PM 9/8/96 PDT, Joel wrote:

Put a higher temperature object in thermal contact with a lower temperature
object. Heat flows from the hot object to the colder object, thereby
increasing the energy of the cool object and decreasing the energy of the
hot object. One might describe this as a "energy flow" and yet it occured
without work being done by one body on another. Therefore I disagree with
what was said above.

Joel, et al., (and Leigh and Dan, if you are listening) tell me two things:

1) Can you say that "heat flows" in other language? Just what is it
specifically that is moving/flowing? Yes, I know that every text in the
galaxy uses this language, but can you say it so I, a freshman physics
student, can understand? At least could you describe what is happening
without using the word "heat"? It won't help just to substitue the word
"energy".

2) Can you tell me how it is that the cool object increases in energy with
out saying the words "heat" and "flow"? What is the detailed mechanism?



And in response to a query in another post, the "Q" in T#1 is an action --
something that is done *to* the system and deltsU is what is inside the
system ie the response by the system to the action of "Q" (and "W" for that
matter, but let's stick with "Q" for the nonce.) Now what shall we call "Q"
and what to call "deltaU". It is surely not helpful to call them the same
thing!!!

Jim.Green@Snow.edu