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Abstract

This paper presents the first law of thermodynamics, and shows what thermodynamics adds to the work—energy theorem from mechanics. This may help students to understand the contents of the law itself and the significance of both the heat transfer and the internal energy of a system.

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first law work heat internal energy

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References

Zemanski

M. W.

, Heat and Thermodynamics (McGraw Hill, New York, 1976), pp. 61–68.

Sears

F. W.

and Salinger

G. L.

, Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory and Statistical Thermodynamics (Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1986), pp. 62–79.

The Work–Energy Theorem and the First Law of Thermodynamics

Abstract

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