Re: Thermodynamics and Lenz's Law

[Chuck Britton <britton@NCSSM.EDU>]

At 1:44 PM -0600 3/11/01, Doug Craigen,  you wrote about Re:
Thermodynamics and Lenz's Law:
> I would add one thing to John's points.  LaChatlier's principle is about
> equilibrium and is in some ways a "no-brainer".

       Yup, but some of us NEED to have even the 'no-brainers'
pounded in from as many directions as possible.

> If you take something
> which has a prefered state (stable or metastable equilibrium) and remove
> it slightly from that prefered state, then it seems pretty obvious that
> forces will come into play to restore it to the prefered state - else
> the state wouldn't be prefered.
>
> Lenz's Law has nothing to do with the configuration being any kind of
> equilibrium state.


       Like if the negative sign were positive and we could then
build a perpetual motion machine of the second, this WOULDN'T be an
equilibrium problem?!?!?!?!?!?

Lenz's Law applies to the equilibrium of maintaining a CONSTANT
magnetic flux through the loop.
               (Sounds like LaChatlier & [stable] equilibrium to ME!)

Especially with superconductors and levitation.
(especially without the Meissner Effect being considered)

  -.     .-.     .-.     .-.     .-.     .-.     .-.     .-.     .-.     .-
    \   /   \   /   \ N /   \ C /   \ S /   \ S /   \ M /   \   /   \   /
     `-'     `-'     `-'     `-'     `-'     `-'     `-'     `-'     `-'
Chuck Britton                                   Education is what is left when
britton@ncssm.edu                               you have forgotten everything
North Carolina School of Science & Math         you learned in school.
(919) 286-3366  x224                            Albert Einstein,        1936