Basic Concepts Around Energy and Energetic Machines

Master in Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Solar Energy Institute – Technical University of Madrid
Energy and Society

Unit I.1
Basic Concepts around Energy

and Energetic Machines
Prof. Ignacio Rey-Stolle
Introduction
Cognitive Goal
 To consolidate basic knowledge around the concept of energy
Summary of the lecture

 Quick quiz
 Definitions for Energy
 Definition for Power
 Units
 Definition of Machine and Energetic Machine
 Energetic Machines and the laws of Thermodynamics
 Living Machines
 Dissipative Systems
E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 2

Quick quiz
Energy or power?
 This sandwich has 600 Calories
 That exercise burns 500 Calories/hour
 Our household used only 100 kWh of electricity last month
 My computer uses 60 watts of electricity
 That power plant generated 3 TWh last year
 The car engine can develop 150 HP

Quick quiz
How much power …?
 Develops a human being doing physical work?
 Consumes an air conditioner machine?
 Consumes a high-efficiency light bulb?
 Produces a nuclear plant?
 Is the maximum that your electricity contract at home allows you to

consume?

Definitions for Energy
What is energy?
 We routinely use the concept in our common language
 We have just enrolled in Masters about Photovoltaic Solar Energy
 Let’s try to define it
 …


 The term energy has different meanings and definitions

related to the idea of a capacity to act, transform or set in
motion.
 In physics, "energy" is defined as the ability to do work,

work meaning force acting through a distance
 Energy is an abstract physical quantity, related to the

dynamic state of a closed system that remains constant
over time.
 Energy is neither a real physical entity nor an "intangible

substance" but only a scalar number that is assigned to
the state of a physical system.
 In other words, energy is a mathematical abstraction of a

property of physical systems.

Richard Feynman’s ideas
“ There is a fact, or if you wish, a law, governing natural phenomena that are
known to date. There is no known exception to this law; it is exact, so far we
know. The law is called conservation of energy; it states that there is a
certain quantity, which we call energy, that does not change in manifold
changes which nature undergoes. That is a most abstract idea, because it
is a mathematical principle; it says that there is a numerical quantity, which
does not change when something happens. It is not a description of a
mechanism, or anything concrete; it is just a strange fact that we can
calculate some number, and when we finish watching nature go through her
tricks and calculate the number again, it is the same”

Consequences of the definition

 The absolute concept is elusive
 It is more understandable when part of it is transferred and manifests itself

in a specific form: kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy,
chemical energy, nuclear energy, electrical energy, mass, …
 Since it is a time invariant, its total value is irrelevant; only changes and
flows are important (potential → kinetic ; kinetic → thermal; …)
 Most energy-related physical laws quantify these changes and flows

between different forms of energy
 To understand any energetic process we must account for all the ways in
which energy may be changed or be transferred

Example: The total energy of a moving car

 A moving car has a given mass; therefore it has some rest mass energy
associated to the law E=mc2
 A moving car is at a given temperature, so it has some thermal energy
 A moving car has some petrol in the tank, so it has some chemical energy
 A moving car has some speed, so it has some kinetic energy
 A moving car may be at a given height, so it may have some potential

energy
 …
 Can we calculate the total energy of a moving car?

Do we need to do so? Which of the latter are relevant?

History of the concept …

 Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) uses the term in his “Nicomachean Ethics”
 Isaac Newton (1642-1727) believed in the conservation of linear momentum (mv)
 Gottfried W. Leibniz (1646-1716) believed in the conservation of the vis viva (mv2)
 Thomas Young (1773-1829) coins the term in its modern sense in 1807 to unify
several forms of energy
 James P. Joule (1818-1889) quantified the mechanical equivalent of heat
(1 cal= 4.184 J).
 William Thomson (Lord Kelvin, 1824-1907) and William Rankine (1820-1872) unified
the thermal and mechanical views of the concept, and coined the terms kinetic and
potential energy
 Max Planck (1858-1947) explained the energetic (i.e. quantum) nature of light
 Albert Einstein (1879-1955) proposed the connection between energy and mass
(E = mc2)

Definition for Power
In common language
 Energy and power are often used as synonyms meaning capacity to act,
strength, vitality or force
 Therefore their use is somewhat ambiguous
In physics
 No doubt
 Rate at which energy is delivered/exchanged/transformed/converted

or work is performed
 Therefore, power is always related to a process in which energy changes

and not to its absolute value.

Definition for Power
Warning about getting Energy and Power mixed up

 It is like mixing up length and speed, but it does occur!
 Sometimes there is a vague borderline (time affects everything …)
 A water pump needs 8 640 000 Joules daily to raise a certain amount of
water to a given height
What is its power?
 We can calculate …
 What does this number mean?

Units for Energy and Power
International System of Units

Energy Joule J = Nꞏm (kgꞏm2/s2)
Power Watt W = J/s (kgꞏm2/s3)
Other common Units
Energy electron-volts eV 1 eV = 1.6ꞏ10-19 J
Energy erg erg 1 erg = 10-7 J
Energy calorie cal 1 cal = 4.186 J
Energy kilowatt-hour kWh 1 kWh = 3.6ꞏ106 J
Energy Tons of Oil Equivalent TOE 1 TOE = 1010 cal
Energy Tons of Coal Equivalent TCE 1 TCE = 0.7 TOE
Power Horsepower (metric) CV 1 CV = 735 W
Power Horsepower (imperial) HP 1 HP = 746 W

Definition for machine
Definition
 A machine is an agent which transforms energy
Purpose
 To realize an energetic transformation (heater, fan, solar panel, ..)
 To perform mechanical work (car, elevator, crane, …)
 To transform a material (coffee machine, metal smelting furnace, …)
Sketch
EP MP EU MU
Machine
Primary Energy, Useful
Resource, energy
Fuel

Energetic Machines
Definition
 Those machines intended to turn energy from one type into another
 Examples: A car, a solar panel, a hydropower station, …
Sketch
EP EU
Machine
Primary energy, Useful
Resource, energy
Fuel
Concept of Efficiency
EU

EP
Energetic Machines and the Laws of Thermodynamics
First law of thermodynamics

(Energy conservation principle)
 Energy can neither be created nor
destroyed, only transformed
Consequences
 In an isolated system, the total amount of
energy remains constant over time
 Today there is the same amount of

energy in our Universe that just after the
Big Bang
 In an isolated system, only transfers http://www.holon.se/folke/index.shtml
between different types of energy can

occur without net loss or gain of energy

Principles in physics
 Principles of physics are those
laws that cannot be proven;
however we can measure and
quantify them observing the
results that they produce
Noether’s Theorem and the 1st Law

 In physical systems from every
continuous symmetry it can be
derived a conservation law
 In Lagrangian systems (as the
Universe as a whole is) it can be
demonstrated that if physical laws
are invariant with time then there
is energy conservation

Machines and 1st law

 Energy is a time invariant
 Machine transforms primary

energy into useful energy:
EP MP EU MU
EPEU
Machine
 = EU/EP ≤ 1 ? Primary energy , Useful

Resource, Ei
energy
1) Energy is destroyed Fuel
2) Energy is accumulated EW MW

within the machine (Ei)
Waste energy
3) There is an additional flow:
E = 0  
 ER ,, EP = EU+ER There is always a waste energy!

We need more laws to explain some phenomena
 The limiting efficiency of a Carnot Heat Engine
W T [K ]
 max   1 C
Q TH [ K ]

Second law of thermodynamics (Entropy law)

 In any spontaneous process in an isolated system, the entropy of the
system never decreases (Boltzman)
or
 The spontaneous transfer of heat form a cold body to a hotter body is

impossible (Clausius)
or
 It is impossible to extract an amount of heat from a hot reservoir and use

it all to do work (Carnot-Kelvin-Plank)

On the concept of Entropy (S)

 Entropy is commonly thought as an elusive concept
dS  dQ T
 It is a thermodynamic quantity clearly defined and quantifiable
S  k B ln 
 It is a concept even more recent than the concept of energy
 Entropy never decreases, so it distinguishes between the past and the

future (It establishes some irreversible changes in nature)
 It is frequently related to the extent of disorder in a system
 In an atomistic view of matter, it can be considered as the amount of

microstates of a system characterized macroscopically by a given energy,
volume, and number of particles (Boltzmann)
 In terms of energy, the entropy is related to the amount of energy that

cannot be converted into mechanical work

Consequences of the 2nd law

 Not all energy can be converted into work
E  W U and U  S
So S   U   W 
http://www.holon.se/folke/index.shtml
Concept of Exergy (W)

 Is the part of the energy that can be
converted into work
 Exergy can be destroyed!
 We humans are mostly interested in exergy

rather than energy
 Maximum entropy  End of Exergy 

Total immobility (death?) of the Universe

Machines and 2nd law

 There is also an entropy flow:
SP  SU , SW
EP SP MP EU SU MU
2nd law: SP ≤ SU+SW

Machine
Primary energy Useful
 Entropy increase of the energy
main line
EW SW MW
o if SU < SP  SW 
 EW   Waste energy
(Machine produces order)
o if SU > SP  SW   The 2nd law allows to anticipate the

 EW    
maximum potential efficiency of a machine
by considering the flows of entropy

Living beings as Machines
Life and entropy ...

 Living beings are energetic systems
highly ordered and structured
 Their subsistence strongly depends on

their ability to maintain such complex
internal organization Living
being
 Nature always tends to maximize EP , MP EW, MW
Extracts S<0
disorder (i.e. to maximize entropy)
Resources for its internal Waste
 Living beings can be thought as organization
energetic systems oriented to extracting
negative entropy from their surroundings
(S<0 → order)
(What’s life, E. Shrödinger, 1944)
 Their efficiency must be low

Dissipative Systems
Definition
 These are systems or structures (machines?) operating far from
thermodynamic equilibrium, in an environment with which they exchange
energy and matter
Characteristics
 Dissipative systems are very complex systems, highly ordered and
endowed with a well-defined structure
 They need a continuous exchange of matter and energy with their
surroundings to exist. They need to endlessly fight against disorder and
decomposition (i.e. the return to equilibrium)
Examples
 Living beings (including humans), societies, ecosystems
 Hurricanes, whirls, climate on earth, …

Assignments
 Assignment Unit I.1
 Once completed upload your results in Moodle

(preferably before next class,
the latest before Block II starts)

Some additional Readings
About the origin of the concept of energy
 The vis viva dispute: a controversy at the dawn of dynamics

George E. Smith (2006)
Some clarifying discussion on entropy and the 2nd law
 Introduction, and a Short History of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics,

Chapter 1 of ENTROPY DEMYSTIFIED , A. Ben-Naim, World
Scientific Publishing (2008)
 Shakespeare and Thermodynamics: Dam the Second Law!

Frank L. Lambert (2001)
About the relations between Energy, entropy y life
 What’s life, E. Shrödinger (1944)


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Master in Photovoltaic Solar Energy

Solar Energy Institute – Technical University of Madrid

Energy and Society

Basic Concepts around Energy

Summary of the lecture

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 2

 This sandwich has 600 Calories

 That exercise burns 500 Calories/hour

 Our household used only 100 kWh of electricity last month

 My computer uses 60 watts of electricity

 That power plant generated 3 TWh last year

 The car engine can develop 150 HP

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 3

How much power …?

 Develops a human being doing physical work?

 Consumes an air conditioner machine?

 Consumes a high-efficiency light bulb?

 Produces a nuclear plant?

 Is the maximum that your electricity contract at home allows you to

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 4

 We routinely use the concept in our common language

 We have just enrolled in Masters about Photovoltaic Solar Energy

 Let’s try to define it

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 5

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 6

 The term energy has different meanings and definitions

 In physics, "energy" is defined as the ability to do work,

 Energy is an abstract physical quantity, related to the

 Energy is neither a real physical entity nor an "intangible

 In other words, energy is a mathematical abstraction of a

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 7

Richard Feynman’s ideas

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 8

Consequences of the definition

 It is more understandable when part of it is transferred and manifests itself

 Most energy-related physical laws quantify these changes and flows

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 9

Example: The total energy of a moving car

 A moving car is at a given temperature, so it has some thermal energy

 A moving car has some speed, so it has some kinetic energy

 A moving car may be at a given height, so it may have some potential

 Can we calculate the total energy of a moving car?

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 10

History of the concept …

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 11

 Therefore their use is somewhat ambiguous

 Rate at which energy is delivered/exchanged/transformed/converted

 Therefore, power is always related to a process in which energy changes

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 12

Warning about getting Energy and Power mixed up

 Sometimes there is a vague borderline (time affects everything …)

 What does this number mean?

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 13

International System of Units

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 14

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 15

 Examples: A car, a solar panel, a hydropower station, …

First law of thermodynamics

 Today there is the same amount of

 In an isolated system, only transfers http://www.holon.se/folke/index.shtml

between different types of energy can

E&S I.1 – Basic Concepts around Energy and Energetic Machines 17

Noether’s Theorem and the 1st Law