Energy Conservation

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conservation of energy
physics
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Also known as: law of constant energy

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Last Updated: Jan 11, 2024 • Article History
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Category: Science & Tech
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Conservation of energy, principle

of physics according to which the
energy of interacting bodies or
particles in a closed system remains
constant. The first kind of energy to be
recognized was kinetic energy, or
1 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
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energy of motion. In certain particle

collisions, called elastic, the sum of the
kinetic energy of the particles before
collision is equal to the sum of the
kinetic energy of the particles after
collision. The notion of energy was
progressively widened to include other
forms. The kinetic energy lost by a
body slowing down as it travels
upward against the force of gravity was
regarded as being converted into
potential energy, or stored energy,
which in turn is converted back into
kinetic energy as the body speeds up
during its return to Earth. For
example, when a pendulum swings
upward, kinetic energy is converted to
potential energy. When the pendulum
stops briefly at the top of its swing, the
kinetic energy is zero, and all the
energy of the system is in potential
energy. When the pendulum swings
back down, the potential energy is
converted back into kinetic energy. At
all times, the sum of potential and
kinetic energy is constant. Friction,
however, slows down the most
carefully constructed mechanisms,
thereby dissipating their energy
gradually. During the 1840s it was
conclusively shown that the notion of
energy could be extended to include
the heat that friction generates. The
truly conserved quantity is the sum of
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truly conserved quantity is the sum of

kinetic, potential, and thermal energy.
For example, when a block slides down
a slope, potential energy is converted
into kinetic energy. When friction
slows the block to a stop, the kinetic
energy is converted into thermal
energy. Energy is not created or
destroyed but merely changes forms,
going from potential to kinetic to
thermal energy. This version of the
conservation-of-energy principle,
expressed in its most general form, is
the first law of thermodynamics. The
conception of energy continued to
expand to include energy of an electric
current, energy stored in an electric or
a magnetic field, and energy in fuels
and other chemicals. For example, a
car moves when the chemical energy
in its gasoline is converted into kinetic
energy of motion.
Watch how a tire-swing pendulum

demonstrates the law of
conservation of energy
Explanation of the principle of the
conservation of energy.
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With the advent of relativity physics

(1905), mass was first recognized as
equivalent to energy. The total energy
of a system of high-speed particles
includes not only their rest mass but
also the very significant increase in
their mass as a consequence of their
high speed. After the discovery of
relativity, the energy-conservation
principle has alternatively been named
the conservation of mass-energy or the
conservation of total energy.
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Physics and Natural Law
When the principle seemed to fail, as it

did when applied to the type of
radioactivity called beta decay
(spontaneous electron ejection from
atomic nuclei), physicists accepted the
existence of a new subatomic particle,
the neutrino, that was supposed to
carry off the missing energy rather
than reject the conservation principle.
Later, the neutrino was experimentally
detected.
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e Powerpoint
sentations
Energy conservation, however, is

more than a general rule that persists
in its validity. It can be shown to
follow mathematically from the
uniformity of time. If one moment of
time were peculiarly different from
any other moment, identical physical
phenomena occurring at different
moments would require different
amounts of energy, so that energy
would not be conserved.
This article was most recently revised and

updated by Adam Augustyn.
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laws of thermodynamics
physics
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Written by Ken Stewart

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Laws of thermodynamics, four relations underlying thermodynamics, the

branch of physics concerning heat, work, temperature, and energy and
the transfer of such energy.
The zeroth law of thermodynamics
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The first and second laws were formally stated in works by German physicist
Rudolf Clausius and Scottish physicist William Thomson about 1860. The third
law was developed by German chemist Walther Nernst from 1906 to 1912.
However, scientists realized that one additional law was needed to fully
describe energy changes in systems. This “law” was a basic understanding that
was always considered to be true but needed to be formally stated. Because the
other three laws were already numbered and the additional law is the
foundation for the other three, it was dubbed the zeroth law of
thermodynamics by Ralph Fowler in the 1930s.
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The law states that if two bodies are each in thermal equilibrium with a third
body, they must also be in equilibrium with each other. This means that if two
objects are at the same temperature and they are in thermal equilibrium with
another object, then this third object is also at the same temperature as the
other two objects. This property makes it meaningful to use thermometers as
the “third body” and to define a temperature scale.
The first law of thermodynamics

Within an isolated system, the total energy of the system is constant, even if
energy has been converted from one form to another. (This is another way of
stating the law of conservation of energy: that energy can not be created
or destroyed but merely converted from one form to another.) If the system is
not isolated, the change in a system’s internal energy ΔU is equal to the
difference between the heat Q added to the system from its surroundings and
the work W done by the system on its surroundings; that is, ΔU = Q − W.
The second law of thermodynamics
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Heat does not flow spontaneously from a colder region to a hotter region; or,
equivalently, heat at a given temperature cannot be converted entirely into
work. Consequently, the entropy (measure of the disorder of the material) of a
closed system, or heat energy per unit temperature, increases over time toward
some maximum value. Thus, all closed systems tend toward an equilibrium
state in which entropy is at a maximum and no energy is available to do useful
work.
The third law of thermodynamics

The entropy of an isolated system approaches a constant value as the
temperature of the system approaches absolute zero (−273.15 °C, or −459.67
°F). In practical terms, this theorem implies the impossibility of attaining
absolute zero, since as a system approaches absolute zero, the further
extraction of energy from that system becomes more and more difficult.
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Ken Stewart
Science & Tech
hydraulic power
9 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
hydraulic power
engineering
Also known as: fluid power

Article History
Also called: Fluid Power

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Hydraulic power, power

transmitted by the controlled
circulation of pressurized fluid, usually
a water-soluble oil or water–glycol
mixture, to a motor that converts it
into a mechanical output capable of
doing work on a load. Hydraulic power
systems have greater flexibility than
mechanical and electrical systems and
can produce more power than such
systems of equal size. They also
provide rapid and accurate responses
to controls. As a result, hydraulic
power systems are extensively used in
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power systems are extensively used in

modern aircraft, automobiles, heavy
industrial machinery, and many kinds
of machine tools.
Motors in a hydraulic power system

are commonly classified into two basic
types: linear motors and rotational
motors. A linear motor, also called a
hydraulic cylinder, consists of a piston
and a cylindrical outer casing. The
piston constitutes the mechanical
interface across which kinetic energy
from the fluid is transferred to the
motor mechanism. A piston rod serves
to couple the mechanical force
generated inside the cylinder to the
external load. Hydraulic linear motors
are useful for applications that require
a high-force, straight-line motion and
so are utilized as brake cylinders in
automobiles, control actuators on
aircraft, and in devices that inject
molten metal into die-casting
machines. A rotational motor,
sometimes called a rotary hydraulic
motor, produces a rotary motion. In
such a motor the pressurized fluid
supplied by a hydraulic pump acts on
the surfaces of the motor’s gear teeth,
vanes, or pistons and creates a force
that produces a torque on the output
shaft. Rotational motors are most
often used in digging equipment (e.g.,
earth augers), printing presses, and
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earth augers), printing presses, and

spindle drives on machine tools.
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renewable energy
Also known as: alternative energy

Written by Noelle Eckley Selin
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geothermal power station
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Also called: alternative energy
Key People: Daniel G. Nocera • T.

Boone Pickens
Related Topics: geothermal energy •

solar energy • wind power • biogas •
tidal power
Recent News
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2023
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energy resources
Significant energy resources that
power human activities.
Renewable energy, usable energy

derived from replenishable sources
such as the Sun (solar energy), wind
(wind power), rivers (hydroelectric
power), hot springs (geothermal
energy), tides (tidal power), and
biomass (biofuels).
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The transition to renewable energy

explained by Phil the Fixer
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At the beginning of the 21st century,

about 80 percent of the world’s energy
supply was derived from fossil fuels
such as coal, petroleum, and natural
gas. Fossil fuels are finite resources;
most estimates suggest that the proven
reserves of oil are large enough to
meet global demand at least until the
middle of the 21st century. Fossil fuel
combustion has a number of negative
environmental consequences. Fossil-
fueled power plants emit air pollutants
such as sulfur dioxide, particulate
matter, nitrogen oxides, and toxic
chemicals (heavy metals: mercury,
chromium, and arsenic), and mobile
sources, such as fossil-fueled vehicles,
emit nitrogen oxides, carbon
monoxide, and particulate matter.
Exposure to these pollutants can cause
heart disease, asthma, and other
human health problems. In addition,
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human health problems. In addition,

emissions from fossil fuel combustion
are responsible for acid rain, which
has led to the acidification of many
lakes and consequent damage to
aquatic life, leaf damage in many
forests, and the production of smog in
or near many urban areas.
Furthermore, the burning of fossil
fuels releases carbon dioxide (CO2),
one of the main greenhouse gases that
cause global warming.
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tidal power
Diagram of a tidal power barrage.
In contrast, renewable energy sources

accounted for nearly 20 percent of
global energy consumption at the
beginning of the 21st century, largely
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beginning of the 21st century, largely

from traditional uses of biomass such
as wood for heating and cooking. By
2015 about 16 percent of the world’s
total electricity came from large
hydroelectric power plants, whereas
other types of renewable energy (such
as solar, wind, and geothermal)
accounted for 6 percent of total
electricity generation. Some energy
analysts consider nuclear power to be
a form of renewable energy because of
its low carbon emissions; nuclear
power generated 10.6 percent of the
world’s electricity in 2015.
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wind turbine
Components of a wind turbine.
Growth in wind power exceeded 20

percent and photovoltaics grew at 30
percent annually in the 1990s, and
renewable energy technologies
continued to expand throughout the
early 21st century. Between 2001 and
2017 world total installed wind power
capacity increased by a factor of 22,
growing from 23,900 to 539,581
megawatts. Photovoltaic capacity also
expanded, increasing by 50 percent in
2016 alone. The European Union
(EU), which produced an estimated
6.38 percent of its energy from
renewable sources in 2005, adopted a
goal in 2007 to raise that figure to 20
percent by 2020. By 2016 some 17
percent of the EU’s energy came from
renewable sources. The goal also
included plans to cut emissions of
carbon dioxide by 20 percent and to
ensure that 10 percent of all fuel
consumption comes from biofuels. The
EU was well on its way to achieving
those targets by 2017. Between 1990
and 2016 the countries of the EU
reduced carbon emissions by 23
percent and increased biofuel
production to 5.5 percent of all fuels
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production to 5.5 percent of all fuels

consumed in the region. In the United
States numerous states have
responded to concerns over climate
change and reliance on imported fossil
fuels by setting goals to increase
renewable energy over time. For
example, California required its major
utility companies to produce 20
percent of their electricity from
renewable sources by 2010, and by the
end of that year California utilities
were within 1 percent of the goal. In
2008 California increased this
requirement to 33 percent by 2020,
and in 2017 the state further increased
its renewable-use target to 50 percent
by 2030.
Noelle Eckley Selin
Science & Tech
chemical energy
physics

18 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
Article History
Related Topics: energy
Chemical energy, Energy stored in

the bonds of chemical compounds.
Chemical energy may be released
during a chemical reaction, often in
the form of heat; such reactions are
called exothermic. Reactions that
require an input of heat to proceed
may store some of that energy as
chemical energy in newly formed
bonds. The chemical energy in food is
converted by the body into mechanical
energy and heat. The chemical energy
in coal is converted into electrical
energy at a power plant. The chemical
energy in a battery can also supply
electrical power by means of
electrolysis.

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conservation of linear
momentum
physics

Article History
Related Topics: conservation law •

conservation of momentum • linear
momentum
Conservation of linear
momentum, general law of physics
according to which the quantity called
momentum that characterizes motion
never changes in an isolated collection
of objects; that is, the total momentum
of a system remains constant.
Momentum is equal to the mass of an
object multiplied by its velocity and is
equivalent to the force required to
bring the object to a stop in a unit
length of time. For any array of several
objects, the total momentum is the
sum of the individual momenta. There
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is a peculiarity, however, in that

momentum is a vector, involving both
the direction and the magnitude of
motion, so that the momenta of
objects going in opposite directions
can cancel to yield an overall sum of
zero.
Before launch, the total momentum of

a rocket and its fuel is zero. During
launch, the downward momentum of
the expanding exhaust gases just
equals in magnitude the upward
momentum of the rising rocket, so that
the total momentum of the system
remains constant—in this case, at zero
value. In a collision of two particles,
the sum of the two momenta before
collision is equal to their sum after
collision. What momentum one
particle loses, the other gains.
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The law of conservation of linear

momentum is abundantly confirmed
by experiment and can even be
mathematically deduced on the
reasonable presumption that space is
uniform—that is, that there is nothing
in the laws of nature that singles out
one position in space as peculiar
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compared with any other.

updated by Erik Gregersen.
Science & Tech
nuclear energy
Also known as: atomic energy, atomic power

Last Updated: Dec 29, 2023 • Article History
nuclear fission and nuclear fusion
See all media
Also called: atomic energy
22 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
Key People: Glenn T. Seaborg •

Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton •
Andrey Sakharov • Edward ...(Show
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Ig…
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Nuclear energy, energy that is

released in significant amounts in
processes that affect atomic nuclei, the
dense cores of atoms. It is distinct
from the energy of other atomic
phenomena such as ordinary chemical
reactions, which involve only the
orbital electrons of atoms. One
method of releasing nuclear energy is
by controlled nuclear fission in devices
called reactors, which now operate in
many parts of the world for the
production of electricity. Another
method for obtaining nuclear energy,
controlled nuclear fusion, holds
promise but has not been perfected by
2020. Nuclear energy has been
released explosively by both nuclear
fusion and nuclear fission. See also
nuclear power.
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Tianwan nuclear power plant,

Lianyungang, Jiangsu province,
China
The Tianwan nuclear power plant, using
pressurized-water reactors, in… ...(more)
In nuclear fission the nucleus of an

atom, such as that of uranium or
plutonium. breaks up into two lighter
nuclei of roughly equal mass. The
process may take place spontaneously
in some cases or may be induced by
the excitation of the nucleus with a
variety of particles (e.g., neutrons,
protons, deuterons, or alpha particles)
or with electromagnetic radiation in
the form of gamma rays. In the fission
process a large quantity of energy is
released, radioactive products are
formed, and several neutrons are
emitted. These neutrons can induce
fission in a nearby nucleus of
fissionable material and release more
neutrons that can repeat the sequence,
causing a chain reaction in which a
large number of nuclei undergo fission
and an enormous amount of energy is
released. If controlled in a nuclear
reactor, such a chain reaction can
provide power for society’s benefit. If
uncontrolled, as in the case of the so-
called atomic bomb, it can lead to an
24 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
called atomic bomb, it can lead to an

explosion of awesome destructive
force.
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Nuclear fusion is the process by

which nuclear reactions between light
elements form heavier elements. In
cases where the interacting nuclei
belong to elements with low atomic
numbers (e.g., hydrogen [atomic
number 1] or its isotopes deuterium
and tritium), substantial amounts of
energy are released. The vast energy
potential of nuclear fusion was first
exploited in thermonuclear weapons,
or hydrogen bombs, which were
developed in the decade immediately
following World War II. The potential
peaceful applications of nuclear fusion,
especially in view of the essentially
limitless supply of fusion fuel on
Earth, have encouraged an immense
effort to harness this process for the
production of power. Although
practical fusion reactors have not been
built yet, the necessary conditions of
plasma temperature and heat
insulation have been largely achieved,
suggesting that fusion energy for
electric-power production is now a
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serious possibility. Commercial fusion

reactors promise an inexhaustible
source of electricity for countries
worldwide.

updated by Melissa Petruzzello.
Science & Tech
charge conservation
physics

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Charge conservation, in physics,

constancy of the total electric charge in
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the universe or in any specific

chemical or nuclear reaction. The total
charge in any closed system never
changes, at least within the limits of
the most precise observation. In
classical terms, this law implies that
the appearance of a given amount of
positive charge in one part of a system
is always accompanied by the
appearance of an equal amount of
negative charge somewhere else in the
system; for example, when a plastic
ruler is rubbed with a cloth, it becomes
negatively charged and the cloth
becomes positively charged by an
equal amount.
Although fundamental particles of

matter continually and spontaneously
appear, disappear, and change into
one another, they always obey the
restriction that the net quantity of
charge is preserved. When a charged
particle changes into a new particle,
the new particle inherits the exact
charge of the original. When a charged
particle appears where there was none
before, it is invariably accompanied by
another particle of equal and opposite
charge, so that no net change in charge
occurs. The annihilation of a charged
particle requires the joint annihilation
of a particle of equal and opposite
charge.
27 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
charge.
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updated by William L. Hosch.
Science & Tech
waterpower
Also known as: water energy, water power

Article History
Related Topics: water • hydroelectric

power • energy • pumped-storage
system
Waterpower, power produced by a

stream of water as it turns a wheel or
similar device. The waterwheel was
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probably invented in the 1st century

BCE, and it was widely used throughout
the Middle Ages and into modern
times for grinding grain, operating
bellows for furnaces, and other
purposes. The more-compact water
turbine, which passes water through a
series of fixed and rotating blades, was
introduced in 1827 by Benoît
Fourneyron, a French experimenter,
whose first turbine developed about 6
horsepower. By 1832 he had perfected
a turbine capable of developing 50
horsepower. Various modifications
followed Fourneyron’s design, notably
those of James Thomson (about 1851)
and James B. Francis (1855), using
radial flow inward. Water turbines,
used originally for direct mechanical
drive for irrigation, now are used
almost exclusively to generate electric
power. See also hydroelectric power.

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heat exchanger
energy conversion
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heat exchanger
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regenerative heat exchanger • shell-
and-tube heat exchanger • ...(Show
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Heat exchanger, any of several

devices that transfer heat from a hot to
a cold fluid. In many engineering
applications it is desirable to increase
the temperature of one fluid while
cooling another. This double action is
economically accomplished by a heat
exchanger. Among its uses are the
30 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
exchanger. Among its uses are the

cooling of one petroleum fraction
while warming another, the cooling of
air or other gases with water between
stages of compression, and the
preheating of combustion air supplied
to a boiler furnace using hot flue gas as
the heating medium. Other uses
include the transfer of heat from
metals to water in atomic power plants
and the reclaiming of heat energy from
the exhaust of a gas turbine by
transferring heat to the compressed air
on its way to the combustion
chambers. Heat exchangers are used
extensively in fossil-fuel and nuclear
power plants, gas turbines, heating
and air-conditioning, refrigeration,
and the chemical industry. The devices
are given different names when they
serve a special purpose. Thus boilers,
evaporators, superheaters,
condensers, and coolers may all be
considered heat exchangers.
Heat exchangers are manufactured

with various flow arrangements and in
different designs. Perhaps the simplest
is the concentric tube or double-pipe
heat exchanger shown in Figure 1, in
which one pipe is placed inside
another. Inlet and exit ducts are
provided for the two fluids. In the
diagram the cold fluid flows through
the inner tube and the warm fluid in
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the inner tube and the warm fluid in

the same direction through the
annular space between the outer and
the inner tube. This flow arrangement
is called parallel flow. Heat is
transferred from the warm fluid
through the wall of the inner tube (the
so-called heating surface) to the cold
fluid. A heat exchanger can also be
operated in counterflow, in which the
two fluids flow in parallel but opposite
directions. Concentric tube heat
exchangers are built in several ways,
such as a coil or in straight sections
placed side by side and connected in
series.
Figure 2: Cross-flow exchange in a

shell-and-tube type of heat
exchanger
The most common type of heat

exchanger is the shell-and-tube type
illustrated in Figure 2. It utilizes a
bundle of tubes through which one of
the fluids flows. These tubes are
enclosed in a shell with provisions for
the other fluid to flow through the
spaces between the tubes. In most
32 of 33 2/6/2024, 11:29 AM
spaces between the tubes. In most

designs of this type, the free fluid flows
roughly perpendicular to the tubes
containing the other fluid, in what is
known as a cross-flow exchange. In
nuclear reactors fuel rods may replace
the tubes, and the cooling fluid flowing
around the rods removes the heat
generated by the fission process.
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Home  Science  Physics  Matter & Energy

Science & Tech

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Also known as: law of constant energy

Category: Science & Tech

Key People: Hermann von Helmholtz $1 per month for

On the Web: VIVA Open Publishing -

See all related content →

Conservation of energy, principle

energy of motion. In certain particle

truly conserved quantity is the sum of

Watch how a tire-swing pendulum

See all videos for this article

With the advent of relativity physics

Physics and Natural Law

When the principle seemed to fail, as it