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Re: W+Q deprecated



I understand your concern, Jim, but I did not wish to broach that chestnut
in this thread. Please accept my use of "transfer" as a metaphor, easing
my typing task. I certainly do not believe in anything like the transfer
of a "caloric substance" or the transfer of any "energetic substance". I
refer to something akin to the transfer of a score quantity in a zero sum
game - purely mathematical. Please let this thread go on to other
concerns.

Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
trebor@velocity.net
http://www.velocity.net/~trebor
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Green" <JMGreen@SISNA.COM>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 4:14 PM
Subject: Re: W+Q deprecated


| >2.) The value of the state function E may change by means of energy
| >transfers between the system and objects in its environment.
| >3.) These transfers are always such that the total energy E_tot of a
| >closed super-system of such systems is conserved (fixed in numerical
| >value).
| >
| >I dare to think that no physicist will quarrel with the above.
|
| Sorry, Bob, this physicist does quarrel: Energy is never
"transferred" --
| it is _changed_ only by doing work on the system -- This is the whole
point
| of the First Law --- which is the same as the W/E principle. Until we
| loose the faulty notions, we will never understand thermo.
|
|
| Jim Green
| mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
| http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen