Energy system analysis and energy transfer

To study an energy transfer, one must be able to define and distinguish between two comparable parts. First, we have the system and this is the part that we focus our measurements. However, to distinguish the disparity in some quantity such as energy, we must have something to compare it to. This comparing factor is referred to as the surrounding. As an example, say we bake an apple pie in an oven (no particular reason except for the fact that Im craving one at the moment). In this example, our apple pie is the system. The oven, the kitchen and all other parts of the Universe are the surroundings. However, since the only parts of the Universe of importance are the kitchen and the oven, we disregard the other parts of the Universe. For instance, the X-ray emission from Cygnus-X1 is not going to affect how our apple pie is baked. If Cygnus-X1 were located within in the kitchen, then it would affect the pie (and if its still there from all the radiation Cygnus-X1 emits, I wouldnt eat it either). Another concept of importance is that of internal energy, which is the sum of all energy levels of all particles (atoms, ions, and molecules) located within the system. The total internal energy is temperature-dependent and dependent on the particle type and the quantity of particles within the sample. For instance, a cup of boiling water surprisingly contains less energy than a bucket full of warm water. In calculating the thermodynamic change, we represent the internal energy in a system by the letter E. Thus, the change in internal energy is delta E. In terms of reactions, delta E = Eproducts Ereactants. To illustrate delta E, we apply a diagram called an energy diagram. In the energy diagram, two energy states are represented by horizontal lines with an arrow indicating the quantity of energy transferred. If the system is giving heat to the surrounding (or in terms of reactions, Eproducts > Ereactants), then it is deemed as exothermic (or the giving off of heat). However, if the system is absorbing heat from the surroundings (or Eproducts < Ereactants), the status is defined as endothermic (or the absorbing of heat). A change in the systems energy will be with an opposite change in the surroundings energy. In many chemical reactions, energy can be transferred as heat, work, and light (and perhaps more but others slip my mind at the moment). If no other energy

transfers occur, then the law of conservation of energy is stated as delta Esys = qsys + wsys. The variable q represents the energy transferred by heating the system, while w represents the work done on the system. The key to remembering the signs of is that, as general rule, heat or work transferring into the system will be a positive q or a positive w. Similarly, heat or works transferring out of the system into the surroundings will be a negative q or a negative w. The magnitudes of q and w indicate the quantities of transferred energy while the signs indicate the direction of their transfer.