ENERGETICS

1. Temperature and Thermometers

Temperature is defined as the degree of hotness or coldness of an object. Microscopically, it is a measure of the
average kinetic energy of a system. It is measured using a thermometer and has as S.I unit kelvin .

Thermal energy

Thermal energy is the energy contained within a system that is responsible for its temperature. Heat is the flow
of thermal energy. (What’s the difference b/n thermal energy and heat?)

Thermal equilibrium and the Zeroth law of thermodynamics

Two physical systems are in thermal equilibrium if there is NO NET heat flow between them when they are in
thermal contact. That is, heat will flow from the hotter object to the cooler one until they have exactly the same
temperature.

The Zeroth law of thermodynamics states that “if two bodies A and B are independently in thermal equilibrium
with another body C, then, body’s A and B are also in thermal equilibrium with each other. The body C can be a
temperature measuring device such as a thermometer.

Thermometric substances and thermometric properties

A thermometric substance is a substance used in the thermometer such as: mercury or alcohol in a liquid in glass
thermometer, a wire in a resistance thermometer, the gas in a constant volume gas thermometer.

A thermometric property is any physical property of a thermometric substance that changes or varies linearly or
proportionally with change in temperature.

Examples of thermometric properties include: length of a column of liquid e.g. mercury and alcohol, electrical
resistance of a resistance thermometer, Emf of a thermocouple.

Assignment: List 4 characteristics of a good thermometric property.

Characteristics of a Good thermometric property

A good thermometric property should be

1. Sensitive, that is, it should be able to detect any small change in temperature.
2. Accurate, that is, it should give exact readings.

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 3. Reproducible, that is, it should give the same readings when the measurements are repeated under the
same conditions.
4. Have a low heat capacity
5. Have a high boiling point and a low melting point
6. A good conductor of heat.

Types of Thermometer

S/N Thermometer Thermometric Thermometric Use/Application

Substance Property
1 Liquid – in – Alcohol or Length of liquid Temperature between
glass mercury column – 200 800
thermometer
2 Resistance Metal wire, Electrical Very high temperature, >
thermometer platinum, resistance of the 10000
iridium. wire
3 Thermocouple Two different e.m.f. at the Rapidly changing
metal wire junction temperature,
Temperature of tinny objects
4 Gas Fixed mass of Pressure volume Basis for calibrating other
thermometer gas thermometers

Temperature Scale

A temperature scale is a set of regular partition with each partition corresponding to a degree of temperature which
helps to give the degree of hotness or coldness of a body.

To establish a temperature scale, a thermometric property is subjected to various temperatures. It is often

necessary to make use of Fixed points.

A fixed point is the single temperature at which a particular physical event always takes place. There are three (3)
such fixed points;

a) The Ice Point: this is the temperature of pure melting ice at standard atmospheric pressure. It is designated
(0 , 32 , 273.15 ).

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 b) The Steam Point: this is the temperature of steam over pure water boiling at standard atmospheric
pressure and is designated (100 373.15 ).
c) The Triple Point of Water: this is the unique temperature at which pure ice, pure water and pure water
vapour co – exist at equilibrium and is defined at 273.16 .

Note: On the thermodynamic scale, the difference between the ice point and the triple point is due to difference
in pressure, 760 for ice point and 4.6 for triple point.

Calibrating a Thermometer

If is the value of the thermometric property at the ice point, is the value of the thermometric property at
the steam point and is the value of the thermometric property at any other temperature , then, that unknown
temperature is defined as

Taking ratios and equating them on both

scales.

⟹ =

⟹ = × 100

The Thermodynamic or Kelvin Scale

The thermodynamic or Kelvin scale measures temperature in degree kelvin (K and not 0K). It uses only one fixed
point called the triple point of water.

Suppose a chosen thermometric property has a value at the triple point of water and at an unknown
temperature, , then, = × 273.16

Note:

1. / = / − 273.16 i.e / = / − 273 as normally used.

2. Different thermometers agree only at the fixed points since these are assigned values by definition. They do
not agree at other temperatures because the various thermometric properties vary differently with temperature.

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Examples:

1. A particular resistance thermometer has a resistance of 30.00 Ω at the ice point, 41.58 Ω at steam point
and 34.59 Ω when immersed in boiling liquid. A constant volume thermometer gives reading of 1.333 ×
10 , 1.821 × 10 1.528 × 10 at the same three temperatures. Calculate the temperature
at which the liquid is boiling
i) On the scale of the gas thermometer.
ii) On the scale of the resistance thermometer.
2. The pressure recorded in a certain constant volume gas thermometer at the triple point of water and at the
boiling point of the liquid where 600 800 respectively. What is the temperature of
the boiling liquid in the thermodynamic scale? What is the temperature in ?
3. The resistance of a particular thermometer at a Celsius temperature as measured by a constant volume
gas thermometer is given by

= 50.00 + 0.1700 + 3.00 × 10

Calculate the temperature as measured on the scale of the resistance thermometer which corresponds to a
temperature of 60 on the gas thermometer.

4. Find the absolute temperature on a constant volume gas thermometer if the pressure of the gas at the triple
point is 560 and the pressure at is 865 . What is the temperature in ?

Mercury – in – glass Thermometer

The majority of liquid – in – glass thermometers use mercury as their thermometric substance for the following
reasons:

 Mercury is a good conductor of heat

 Mercury is coloured (opaque)
 It does not wet glass
 Mercury has a fairly regular expansion with temperature

The range of a mercury – in – glass thermometer is as from −39 (its freezing point) to 357 (its boiling
point). However, the upper limit can be extended to measure up to 800 , by filling the vacuum above the
mercury with an inert gas such as Nitrogen (this increases the pressure on the mercury). The lower limit can be
extended by replacing the mercury with liquid pentane.

Although mercury thermometer are cheap to buy and easy to use, they are inaccurate for the following reasons:

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  The calibration of the thermometer depends on how much of the stem is exposed and on the placement of
the thermometer (whether vertical or horizontal).
 Glass is a poor conductor: it contracts and expands slowly and will take a long time to adjust to a particular
temperature condition.
 Parallax errors due to the thin liquid column and narrow glass bore, prevents accurate and precise readings.

The Thermocouple

The thermocouple consist of two (2) dissimilar metal wires welded together at their two ends and a millivolmeter
connected into one of the metal wire. One end called the cold junction, acts as a reference junction and it is
normally placed in crushed ice. The other end called the hot junction is the temperature measuring junction.

The thermocouple works on the principle that whenever two different metals are in contact, an e.m.f is set up at
the point of contact. Thermocouples are superior (better) to other types of thermometer in that;

1. They can measure rapid changing temperature

2. They have very low heat capacities and so have very little effect on the temperature of the body they are
measuring.
3. They can be made very small, making it possible for use in the measurement of temperature of small
objects such as insects.
4. They can be used to measure the temperature of virtually inaccessible points.
5. They are used to measure the temperature of melting point of metals which may be as high as 3000 .
6. They are cheap and easy to use, ideal for a pen recorder

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2. Energy Transfer

Forms of energy:

Energy is always associated with the performance of work. In a mechanical system,

∆ = ×∆

Since energy and work are associated and work involves the use of fuel, food, coal and oil, these are looked upon
as stores of energy.

Energy, once it has been transformed from its fuel form can be stored in several ways.

1. Changing the position of mass in a gravitational field ∆ = ∆ = ∆ℎ

2. Change in shape or size of an elastic body ∆ =

3. Change in the state of motion of mass ∆ = (∆ )

4. Thermal energy is that which flows from hot regions to cold regions due to difference in temperature
∆ = ∆
5. Electrical energy is the energy required to push current through a p.d in a time ∆ . ∆ = ∆

Conservation of Energy

For a closed system, the total amount of energy remains constant as it changes from one form to another.

A conservative force is one in which the total work done by the force in moving a particle between two points is
independent of the path taken. i.e. it is one which permits the preservation of energy. Examples include:
gravitational force, electric force, magnetic force.

On the other hand, a non – conservative force is one in which the work done by the force in moving a particle
between two points is dependent on the path taken. i.e. it causes the wastage of energy. Examples include: friction,
upthrust, viscosity.

Internal energy

The internal energy of a body is the sum of its potential and kinetic energies.

For a gas, it is the sum of its molecular potential and kinetic energies. The kinetic component is due to the motion
of the molecules which depends on temperature while the potential component is due to the presence of
intermolecular forces which depends on the separation of the molecules.

For an ideal gas, only the kinetic component is present since intermolecular forces are negligible.
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For a real gas, both components are present with the kinetic component dominating and their internal energy
depends on temperature and volume of the gas.

In solids, both components are present in approximately equal amount.

The First Law of Thermodynamics

Work done by a gas:

Consider a gas in a cylinder at a pressure

Piston

⃗
A P

Force on the piston = × (from P = F/A)

If the piston moves out through a length which is small enough to allow us consider that the pressure is the
same, then,

= × = ( × )

But is change in volume ∆

Therefore, ( )= × ℎ

= ∆

Note:

Only substitute values in this equation in their S.I Units.

The first law of thermodynamic states that “the heat energy supplied ∆ to a system is equal to the increase in its
internal energy ∆ plus the work done ∆ by the system on its surroundings.

That is, ∆ = ∆ + ∆ =∆ + ∆

Or, the increase in internal energy of a system is equal to the difference between the heat energy supplied in it
and the work done by the system.

That is, ∆ = ∆ − ∆

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This is another form of the law of conservation of energy.

When a gas is heated at constant volume, no work is done against the atmosphere, so all the supplied heat goes to
increase the internal energy of the gas.

Therefore, ∆ = ∆ = ∆ ,

Where is the molar heat capacity at constant volume.

Note that an ideal gas is one whose internal energy does not depend on the volume and it obeys Boyle’s law
perfectly. There is no gas which satisfies these conditions but at room temperature and moderate pressure, most
gases come close to ideal conditions.

Consider a gas which is thermally insulated, i.e., no heat is allowed to enter or leave it. If it expands, it does work.
The energy needed for this work comes from the internal energy of the gas itself, so its temperature falls.

If work is done on the gas, the heat equivalent of this work goes into the gas, this increases it temperature.

When the gas is heated at constant pressure, the heat supplied is related to temperature by the equation

= ∆ ,

where is the molar heat capacity at constant pressure.

Note that is always greater than for any gas because the energy supplied does not only go to raise the
temperature but also for the gas to do work against the atmosphere.

are related by the equation = + ,

where R is the universal gas constant and it is numerically equal to 8.31 .

Note:

∆ is positive when the system gains heat and negative when the system loses heat.

∆ is positive when the system does work and negative when work is done on the system.

∆ is positive when the internal energy increases and negative when the internal energy decreases.

For an isolated system, heat neither enters nor leaves the system, work is neither done on or by the system.
Consequently, ∆ is equal to zero (∆ = 0).

Assignment:

1. Explain why the SHC of a gas at constant pressure is greater than the SHC at constant volume
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2. Explain why a distinction between the SHC at constant pressure and constant volume is important for gas but
not for solid or liquid.

a) specific heat capacity, at constant pressure, Cp is greater than Cv because at constant Cp, the energy goes to
increase the internal energy of the gas.

b) For solids and liquids, change in volume is approximately zero. And therefore the work done, ∆ = 0, implies
no work is done either at constant or constant . for gases, change in volume is large and varies from gas to
gas as a result the work done is also large so it is important to distinguish between and for gases but not for
solids and liquids.

Reversible Process

These are processes that can be made to go in the reverse direction by infinitesimal change in the conditions which
are causing them to take place.

A system whose state can be changed reversibly is in thermodynamic equilibrium. At every instant, all parts of
the system are at the same temperature and pressure.

Conditions for reversible changes

1. The change should occur infinitely slow

2. There should not be any friction nor energy losses

Indicator Diagram

This is a graph of pressure against volume which show how pressure vary with the change in volume.

The work done due to expansion from leads to expansion of the gas and as a result, the pressure decrease
from . The work done by the gas is equal to the area under the graph.

If the graph had represented a compression of the gas from , the work done would have been represented
by the same area.

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When the gas undergoes a change which eventually returns to its initial state, it is said to have undergone a cycle
of operation and the indicator diagram is a closed loop.

P/Pa
A

V/cm3

= −

Isothermal Process

This is a process that takes place at constant temperature. Work is done at the same rate as heat is supplied to the
system. This implies there is no increase in internal energy, i.e.

∆ =0⟹∆ =∆

Conditions for Reversible Isothermal Process

1. It must be in a cylinder with thin, good conducting walls.

2. The cylinder must be surrounded by a constant temperature reservoir.

3. The change must occur slowly

These changes or conditions are necessary so as to keep the internal energy constant, i.e. no temperature loss.

Question:

Explain how the internal energy of a system is modified when it undergoes an isothermal change. In one such
change, 400 of energy was added to the system. How much work was done on or by the system?

Adiabatic Process

It is a process that takes place with no heat entering or leaving the system, i.e.

∆ =0⟹∆ =∆

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In expansion, the gas cools down because half of its internal energy is used for the expansion. On the other
hand, in compression, work is done on the gas by an external agent leading to an increase in internal energy of
the gas i.e. temperature rises.

Conditions for Reversible Adiabatic

1. The gas must be in a thick walled, poorly conducting cylinder.

2. The gas must undergo very rapid but very small change in volume to minimize the escape of heat.

Examples:

1. For a fixed mass of gas, the first law of thermodynamics can be stated or written in the form ∆ = ∆ −
∆ . Explain the meaning of each term in the equation. Use the equation to discuss what happens when the gas
is

i) Heated at constant volume

ii) Compressed adiabatically

2. A thermometer should be an instrument with a sensitive, accurate and highly reproducible thermometric
property. Explain the meaning of the underlined words.
b) Two students A and B set up to estimate the temperature of water in a plastic bucket by feeling it with their
hands fully immersed in water. Student A says the water is warm while student B says the water is cool. Explain
why there is a difference in their description.

3. Heating Matter
Question: Explain using simple kinetic model of matter why

i) Melting and boiling takes place without a change in temperature

ii) The specific latent heat of vaporization is higher than the specific latent heat of fusion for the same substance

iii) A cooling effect always accompany evaporation.

a) Heat Capacity (C)

This is the energy required to cause a unit rise in temperature of an object.

i.e. ( )=ℎ ( )× ℎ (Δ )

⟹ =

S.I unit of is .
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Specific Heat Capacity

This is the energy needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree.

i.e. ( )= × ℎ × ℎ

⟹ =

The S.I unit of ℎ ( ) is .

Relationship between C and c

= ………………… (1) and = = …………….….(2)

Substituting (1) in (2) ⟹ = ⟺ =

Question: What is meant by the specific heat capacity of water is 4200 ?

Measurement of Specific Heat Capacity of a Solid

a) Electrical Method:

Precaution:

1. Oil is put in the holes containing the thermometer and the heater to ensure good thermal contact.

2. The block is lagged to prevent heat loss to the surrounding

3. The rheostat is set to maximum resistance before closing the switch to prevent the ammeter from being damage
due to high flow of current.

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Procedure:

The mass of the drilled block is measured using a scale balance. The initial temperature of the block is
measured using the thermometer. After some time of heating measure using the stop watch, the final temperature
, the current flowing through and potential difference across the heater are measured using the thermometer,
ammeter and voltmeter respectively.

Observations or Measurements:

= V

Calculation: Assuming no heat loses to the surroundings,

ℎ =

⟹ = ( − )

Conclusion: The specific heat capacity of the solid is given by = ( )

Example: An aluminum block of mass 500 is heated by a 40 electric heater embedded in it. In 1 ,
the temperature of the block rose from 15 to 19 . Calculate the specific heat capacity of , ignoring heat
losses to the surrounding. If heat losses were not ignored, will the result be greater or less than the calculated
value? Explain your answer.

b) Method of Mixture

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Precaution:

The calorimeter is lagged to minimize heat loss to the surrounding. The mixture of solid and water is continuously
stirred to ensure uniform temperature since water is a poor conductor of heat.

Procedure:

The mass ( ) metal block is measured using a scale balance. The initial temperature ( ) of the block in boiling
water is measured using a thermometer. The mass of water ( ) and the calorimeter ( ) are measure using a
scale balance. The initial temperature ( ) of the water in the calorimeter is measured using the thermometer. The
metal block is quickly transferred into the calorimeter and the final temperature ( ) of the mixture measured using
the thermometer.

Observations:

Calculation:

Assuming no heat loss to the surrounding,

⟹ ( − )=( + )( − )

Conclusion:

( )( )
The specific heat capacity of the metal is given by = ( )

Example:

A1 block of aluminum at 100 is placed in 200 of water in a well lagged copper calorimeter of mass
25 at a temperature of 25 . The final temperature attained is 63.6 . Calculate the specific heat capacity of

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aluminum given that the specific heat capacity of copper and water are 400 and 4200
respectively.

Measurement of Specific Heat Capacity of a Liquid

c) Electrical Method

Precaution:

The calorimeter is sealed to prevent heat loss to the surrounding by evaporation and reduction of mass of water.

The liquid is stirred continuously to ensure uniform distribution of heat.

Procedure:

The mass of the liquid ( ) and the calorimeter ( ) are measured using a scale balance. The temperature ( )
of the liquid and calorimeter is measured using the thermometer. After some time ( ) of heating measured with
the stop watch, the final temperature ( ) of the liquid and calorimeter is measured using the thermometer. The
current flowing through and the potential difference across the heater are measure using the ammeter and
voltmeter respectively.

Observations:

ℎ =

=
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Calculation:

Assuming no heat loss to the surrounding,

ℎ =

⟹ = ( − )+ ( − )

Conclusion:

( )
The specific heat capacity of the liquid is given by = ( )

Example:

An engine is used to raise an 800 block of iron at a speed of 6.7 / . 0.5 of glycerin initially at a room
temperature of 23 is needed every second to maintain the temperature of the engine bearing at . The power
developed by the engine is 100 . Calculate if the specific heat capacity of glycerin is 2500 .

d) Method of Mixture

Note: Same procedure as for the method of mixture for solid

( ) ( )
Conclusion: = ( )

Latent Heat
Latent heat is the energy needed to bring about a change of state, i.e. the heat a body absorbs in melting,
evaporating, vaporizing, subliming and gives out in freezing or condensing. Latent heat is hidden from a
thermometer because the change of state occurs at a fixed temperature. e.g.

Question: What is the difference between evaporation and vaporization?

Pure water at standard atmospheric pressure continues to boil at 100 although latent heat of vaporization is
being supplied into it. Similarly, the temperature of liquid naphthalene stays at 80 which is its freezing point
and loosing heat (latent heat of fusion).

Latent Heat of Fusion: It is the amount of heat energy needed to change the state of a solid (or a liquid) into a
liquid (or solid) at constant temperature.

Its S.I unit is joules ( ).

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Latent Heat of Vaporization: This is the amount of heat energy needed to change the state of a liquid (or a
vapour) into a vapour (or a liquid) at constant temperature. It is measured in joules ( ).

The kinetic theory of matter explains that latent heat of fusion is the amount of energy supplied to a solid at its
melting point to enable the molecules overcome the forces of attraction existing between them, causing the regular
structure of the solid to break down. The molecules thus have a greater degree of freedom and disorder that
characterize the liquid state. So, latent heat of fusion geos in to increase the kinetic energy of the molecules.

For vaporization, a much larger amount of heat energy is needed to completely break the bonds which hold the
molecules together in the liquid state, separating them so that they move independently as gas molecules. In
addition, some energy is required to enable the vapour expand against atmospheric pressure.

Specific Latent Heat of Fusion: This is the energy needed to completely change the state of a unit mass of a
solid to liquid at constant temperature.

= ⟹ =

The S.I unit of is .

Specific Latent Heat of Vaporization: This is the energy needed to completely change the state of a unit mass
of a liquid to a gas at constant temperature.

= ⟹ =

The S.I unit of is .

Measurement of Specific Latent Heat

Specific Latent Heat of Fusion (Electrical Method)

Precaution

The ice is dried with blotting paper before use.

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Procedure:

The mass of ice melted when the heater is switched on is measured using a scale balance. The time ( ) for which
the mass was gotten is measured using a stop watch. In the control experiment, the mass of ice melted by heat
from the surrounding only in the same time ( ) is measured using a scale balance.

Observation:

ℎ =

ℎ =

Calculation:

ℎ = − =

ℎ = ℎ

⟹ =

Conclusion:

The specific latent heat of fusion is given by = .

Specific Latent Heat of Vaporization (Continuous Flow Method)

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Precaution:

The flask is lagged to prevent heat loss to the surrounding.

The flask is covered with a lid to prevent reduction of water mass by evaporation.

Procedure:

The liquid in the inner flask is heated so that it boils at its boiling point temperature. The vapour from the liquid
goes out through the holes at the jacket of vapour to the outer flask. Condensation starts taking place in the outer
flask and then the condenser.

The condensed vapour is collected in a collecting flask of known mass. The flask is weighed using a scale balance
to get the mass of the liquid condensed in a time ( ) and the heating current ( ) and pd ( ) are read from the
ammeter and voltmeter respectively.

Assuming some heat loss,

= + ℎ ………………….. (1)

To eliminate the heat loss, the experiment is repeated at a different flow rate by varying the rheostat reading. For
the time of heating ( ), the heating current ( ’ ) and pd ( ) are recorded and the mass ( ) of the condensed liquid
measured. Thus

= + ℎ ………………. (2)

Calculations

− = −

⟹( − ) =( − )

⟹ =
( )

Conclusion: the specific latent heat of vaporization is given by =

( )

Example: June 2003

a. (i) Distinguish between specific latent heat of vaporization and latent heat of vaporization.

(ii) Describe an experiment to determine the specific (latent) heat of vaporization of water

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b. An electric heater rated 2.0 is used to heat 0.5 of water in a kettle. The initial temperature of the water
is 20 .

(i) What time does it take to heat the water to its boiling point?

(ii) Calculate the mass of water that would have boiled away in five minutes

c. Estimate how long it would take all the water to evaporate. State any assumption that you make in your
calculations.

(shc of water = 4200 , shc of cupper is 400 , specific latent heat of water is 2.0 × 10 )

Heating and Cooling Curves

(Heating) (Cooling)

Matter has three states (phases). All these phases are function of temperature. and are the melting and
boiling point temperatures respectively. The cooling curve is the reverse of the heating curve.

Along AB, CD and EF, the energy supplied only increases the temperature of the solid, liquid and vapour
respectively and so, the temperature rises.

Along BC, the energy is used to overcome or break bonds i.e. intermolecular forces so as to change the state from
solid to liquid.

Along DE, some of the energy is used to break the intermolecular forces completely so as to change the state from
liquid to gas. The other part of the energy is used to overcome atmospheric pressure so as to enable the molecules
evaporate (escape) into the atmosphere.

Question: Explain why the specific latent heat of vaporization is always larger than the specific latent heat of
fusion of the same substance.

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4. Thermal Energy Transfer
Thermal energy moves from regions of high heat concentration (high temperature) to regions of low heat
concentration. Heat transmission from one point to another takes through one or more of the following modes:

Conduction

This is the transfer of heat through a material without any movement of the material itself. For example, if one
end of a metal is held and the opposite end strongly heated, the end held by the hand eventually becomes hot to
handle. Heat is transferred by conduction from the heated end to the cold end by atom of the metal.

According to the kinetic theory of matter, the amplitude of vibration of the atoms of the heated end increases such
that energy is transferred from one atom to another at a very fast rate. This process is repeated severally along the
metal but the position of the atoms on the average remains the same.

The major agent of heat conduction in metals are electrons. Free electrons easily carry heat from the heated end
and move to the colder region.

Some materials are better at conducting heat than others. These good conductors of heat allow heat to flow through
them easily. For example, iron, silver, copper, aluminium, zinc etc.

Poor conductors of heat are materials that do not easily allow heat to flow through them. Such materials include
wood, air plastic, cork etc.

Applications of conduction

1. A stone floor feels cold to the bear feet but a carpet feels warm since stone is a better conductor than carpet.

2. A sauce pan is made of aluminum because it is a good conductor of heat. Heat is quickly transferred from the
heat source to the content.

3. Cooking pots are made of metals because they are good conductors of heat. Their handles are made of poor
conductors such as wood or plastic so that they do not become hot to handle.

Convection

This is the transfer of energy from one place to another by the actual movement of the heated substance.

Convection is said to be forced if the heated material is moved by means of a force acting on it.

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Natural convection arises from the change in density when a fluid is heated. This leads to the transfer of heat by
the fluid from the hot to the cold region. Natural convection current include land and see breeze, rising air column
and heated water.

Radiation

Radiation is the transfer of heat between bodies by electromagnetic waves. Material medium is not required, i.e.
heat can be radiated through a vacuum. The heat from the sun reaches the earth’s surface through radiation.

All bodies whether hot or cold radiates energy. If two bodies are alike in every aspect except that one is at a higher
temperature than the other, the body at the higher temperature radiates more energy than the colder one.

The energy radiated by a body increases rapidly as its temperature is raised. The rate of heat loss to the surrounding
by the body is given by ∝ .

The rate at which heat is radiated or absorbed depends on

 The area of the surface

 The absolute temperature of the surface
 The nature of the surface.

Generally, polished (smooth) surfaces are poor radiators of heat while rough, darkened surfaces are good radiators
of heat. Good radiators of heat are also good absorbers of heat.

Newton’s Law of Cooling

Newton’s law of cooling states that “the rate of heat loss from a body is proportional to the excess temperature
over the surroundings”.

Demonstration of the Law

Hot water is put inside a calorimeter, stirred continuously and the temperature recorded at regular time intervals.
A temperature time graph is plotted for the cooling of the hot water in the calorimeter.

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At various temperature , a tangent is drawn and the gradient of the tangent line gives the rate of heat loss to the
surrounding.

ℎ = =

The excess temperature of the water for each value of is given by ( − ), where is the room temperature.

A graph of rate of temperature fall is plotted against the excess temperature.

The graph is a straight line passing through the origin and thereby confirming Newton’s law of cooling.

Note: the rate of temperature fall ( / ) is related to the heat loss ( / ) by the equation

=−

Where is the mass of the liquid, is the specific heat capacity and the negative sign indicates heat is loss
(temperature fall).

Thermal Conductivity

Consider a thin slab of a material of thickness and uniform cross sectional area in between whose faces a
small temperature difference is maintained if an amount of heat passes through the slab by conduction in
time . The time rate of heat flow through the material is given by

= −

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The negative sign indicates that heat flows from high to low temperature regions. That is, as increases,
decreases. Thus, the temperature gradient is negative.

From the above expression, the thermal conductivity is given by

/
=

Definition: thermal conductivity is the time rate of flow of heat through a material per unit area per unit
temperature gradient.

It has units of or .

The following are values of thermal conductivity for some common substances

Substances /
Silver 418
Copper 385
Aluminium 238
Iron 80
Mercury 8
Glass (Pyrex) 1.1
Brick ~1
Rubber 0.2
Air 0.03

Temperature Gradient

Consider a conductor of length and cross sectional area whose opposite ends are maintained at temperatures
and , > . Heat passes from the hot end to the opposite end continuously until a steady state is attained
in which and remains constant. The rate of heat flow through the conductor is then said to be constant.

Definition: temperature gradient is the temperature difference across the ends of a conductor per unit length of
the conductor.

∆
i.e. = = =

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a) Temperature Gradient for a Lagged Bar

In a lagged bar, heat loss from the sides is negligible because the sides are well insulated with a good insulator so
that no heat is lost to the surroundings. The rate of heat flow along the bar is the same. Under steady state
conditions, the temperature falls at a constant rate and the temperature gradient is a straight line.

At steady state, = .

b) Temperature Gradient for an Unlagged Bar

When an unlagged metal bar is heated, the quantity of heat passing in a given time through successive sections
of the bar decreases because of heat losses from the sides. The temperature falls faster near the hotter end. For
steady state conditions, a graph of temperature against distance from the hot end is a curve. The temperature
gradient at any point is giving by the slope of the tangent at that point.

= .

c) Temperature Gradient for a Composite Bar

Consider a composite bar made from two different materials, joint end to end and maintained at steady state
conditions as seen on the diagram below.

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At steady state, the rate of heat flow through the material is equal to the rate of heat flow through material .

i.e. = =

Examples:

The figure above show a composite lagged bar X and Y of the same length 50 and cross – sectional area with
a common junction. The ends of X and Y are respectively 100 and 0 . Their thermal conductivities are in
the ratio 2: 1. What is the temperature at the common junction?

2. A closed metal vessel contains water at (i) 30 and (ii) 75 . The vessel has a surface area of 0.5 and a
uniform thickness of 4 . If the outside temperature is 15 , calculate the heat loss per minute by conduction
in each case. Thermal conductivity = 400 .

3. A highly lagged compound bar 25.0 long is made from a copper bar 15.0 long joined to an aluminium
bar of equal cross – sectional area. The free end of the copper is maintained at 100 while the aluminium is
maintained at 0 . Calculate the temperature gradient for each of the bars under steady states, given that the ratio
of the thermal conductivities of copper to aluminium is 15: 7. (June 2016, Q6 g)

Analogy between Heat Flow and Charge Flow

There exists a useful analogy between thermal and electrical conductivity. For a metal, ∝ and ∝ . Thus,

= . Where is resistivity defined as numerically equal to the resistance of a metal which has a unit cross

sectional area per unit length. The unit of resistivity is Ω .

Electrical conductivity ( ) is the reciprocal of resistivity. That is, = . Unit of is Ω .

By definition, current is the time rate of flow of charges.

. . = = = = = =

Thus comparing

For electricity: = . . Potential gradient

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 ∆
For heat: = . . Temperature gradient

Weideman and Franz discovered that at a given temperature, the ratio / is the same for all metals. Hence, good
conductors of electricity are also good conductors of heat since both processes involves the movement of free
electrons.

Heat Conduction Electrical Conduction

Quantity Symbol Quantity Symbol
Temperature difference ∆ = − Potential difference ∆ = −
Rate of heat flow ∆ Rate of charge flow ∆
. . . .

Temperature gradient ∆ − Potential gradient ∆ −

= =
∆
Thermal resistance ∆ Electrical resistance ∆
= = = =
∆ /∆ ∆ /∆
Thermal conductivity Electrical conductivity
Under condition of zero − If the electric current is −
= . = = . .
content heat loss steady

Thermal Resistance

Thermal resistance is the measure of the opposition a material offers to the flow of heat energy. It is similar to
electrical resistance.

Comparing electrical resistance and thermal resistance,

For electrical resistance: =

For thermal resistance: = . = ( − )

Both and are flow quantities. This implies is thermally equal to .

Thus, =

For perfectly insulated metal conductors joined end to end and of the same cross – sectional area, the total thermal
resistance equals the sum of their individual thermal resistances.

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Example: A composite wire made of iron of length 0.2 and copper of length 0.3 is of diameter 10 and
is insulated along its sides. The free ends of the iron and copper are respectively at temperatures of 100 and
0 . Calculate the thermal resistance of each section of the wire and hence determine the interface temperature.
= 40 and = 360 .

5. Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

The second law of thermodynamics:

It states that “it is impossible for heat transferred at a high energy source to produce an equal amount of work”.

The first law tells us that “the energy put into a machine is equal to the energy from the machine”. You can’t get
more energy out than you put in.

The second law goes further: “the useful energy from any engine is always less than the energy put into the
engine”.

The efficiency of an engine is defined as

ℎ ℎ
= × 100%
ℎ ℎ

So, a heat engine has an efficiency of = × 100%.

Where; = ℎ

=ℎ ℎ

No engine can have an efficiency of 100% since is always less than 100%.

The most efficient engine is a theoretical engine called a reversible engine invented by Carnot. The reversible
engine is defined as one which can be operated in reverse, so that work done on it causes maximum heat
transfer from the cold to the hot reservoir.

The heat transferred to the high temperature is given by = +

In other words, the reversible engine does not raise energy.

Entropy

The thermodynamic scale of temperature is defined using a reversible engine. Define the source temperature ( )

and the sink temperature ( ) as in the ratio / i.e. = ,

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Where =ℎ ℎ

=ℎ ℎ

Since the efficiency of a heat engine is = × 100% and = − , then, the efficiency formula can bbe

written as

= × 100%

⟹ = 1− × 100%

However, the most efficient type of engine is the reversible engine and = , the efficiency of a reversible

engine is given by

= 1− × 100%

⟹ = × 100%

The only way any engine would be made 100% efficient would be to make a sink at absolute zero ( =0 )
and this is impossible.

Entropy is a measure of the way energy spreads out to become less useful or it is the measure of the degree of
disorderliness of a system.

∆ =

Where is the heat transferred and is the temperature of the source or sink. The unit of entropy is .

Examples:

1. A heat engine operating between 373 and 273 has an efficiency of 10 %. Calculate the increase in entropy
when it does 100 of work.

Solution:

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Since the engine does only 100 of work at 10 %,

Loss of entropy from source ( ): ∆ = = = 2.68

Heat transferred to the sink from the engine: = − = 900

Gain in entropy by sink ( ): ∆ = = = 3.30

Therefore overall gain (or change) in entropy: = − = 3.30 − 2.68 = 0.62 .

2. Calculate the efficiency of an ideal heat engine operating between temperatures of 500 and 300 for the
hot and cold reservoirs respectively. If the engine does work at the rate of 5 , how much heat energy is wasted
each second.

3. A heat engine operating between reservoirs at 700 and 300 is used to drive a turbine. The heat engine
accept heat energy from the hot reservoir at the rate of 5000 and does work at the rate of 15 . Calculate

a) the heat energy wasted

b) the engine’s efficiency

c) the change in entropy every second

d) the efficiency of an ideal engine operating between the two reservoirs.

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