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I want to second Jahn Barrer's eloquent defense of the word "dissipation"
which I have come to embrace for precisely the same reasons. I find that
its pointed use helps students to begin laying a sturdy foundation for
their eventual study of thermal physics while studying mechanics.
I want my students to understand 1) that energy seems *always* to be
conserved and 2) that, in real processes, it tends to change from readily
apparent and useful forms to less readily apparent and useful forms
mediated by rubbing, sanding, scouring, eroding, scratching, scraping,
banging, jolting, slapping, crashing, smashing, jerking, jostling,
etc... well ,you get the idea.
I just can't think of a better single word than "dissipation" to describe
and unite these ubiquitous processes and to serve as a mental place holder
of sorts for the associated critically important idea that will eventually
find more precise expression in the the second law of thermodynamics.
John Mallinckrodt mailto:ajm@csupomona.edu
Cal Poly Pomona http://www.csupomona.edu/~ajm