Slides Set# 03

ME-204
THERMODYNAMICS Dr. Musharib Khan
musharib@iese.nust.edu.pk
OUTLINE
 Energy
 Total Energy, E
 Macroscopic vs Microscopic Forms of Energy
 Internal Energy, U

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 Energy
• Energy exists in numerous forms
• e.g.,
thermal, mechanical, electric, kinetic, potential,
magnetic, chemical, and nuclear.
• Their sum constitutes the total energy E of a system.
• Even mass can be considered a form of energy.

• Energy can be transferred to or from a closed

system in two distinct forms: heat and work.
• An energy transfer to or from a closed system is heat if it
is caused by a temperature difference.
• Otherwise, it is work, and it is caused by a force acting
through a distance.

• For control volumes, energy can also be transferred

by mass flow.
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 Total Energy
• The total energy of a system on a unit mass basis:
𝐸
𝑒= (kJ/kg)
𝑚

• Thermodynamics provides no information about the

absolute value of the total energy.
• It deals only with the change of the total energy, which is what
matters in engineering problems.
• Thus, the total energy of a system can be assigned a value of zero
(E = 0) at some convenient reference point.
• The change in total energy of a system is independent of the
reference point selected.
• Example: The decrease in the potential energy of a falling rock
depends on only the elevation difference and not the reference
level selected.

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 Total Energy
• In thermodynamic analysis, it is helpful to consider the
various forms of energy that make up the total energy of a
system in two groups: macroscopic and microscopic.
• The macroscopic forms of energy are those a system possesses
as a whole with respect to some outside reference frame, e.g.,
kinetic and potential energies.
• This form of energy is related to motion and the influence of some
external effects, e.g., gravity, magnetism, electricity, and surface
tension.
• The microscopic forms of energy are those related to the
molecular structure of a system and the degree of the molecular
activity, and they are independent of outside reference frames.
• The sum of all the microscopic forms of energy is called the internal
energy (U) of a system.

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Macroscopic Forms of Energy

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 Macroscopic Forms of Energy
• Kinetic Energy (KE): The energy that a system possesses as
a result of its motion relative to some reference frame.
• V is the velocity of the
system relative to some
Or, on a unit mass basis: fixed reference frame.

• The KE of a rotating solid body is given by:

• I is moment of inertia of the body
• ω is the angular velocity

• Potential Energy (PE): The energy that a system

possesses as a result of its elevation in a gravitational
field. • g is gravitational
acceleration
Or, on a unit mass basis: • z is the elevation of the
center of gravity of a
system relative to some
arbitrarily selected
reference level 7
 Macroscopic Forms of Energy
• The magnetic, electric, and surface tension effects are
significant in some specialized cases only, and are usually
ignored.
• In the absence of such effects, the total energy of a system
consists of the kinetic, potential, and internal energies:

Or, on a unit mass basis:

• Most closed systems remain stationary during a process

and thus experience no change in their KE and PE.
• Closed systems whose velocity and elevation of the center of
gravity remain constant during a process are frequently referred to
as stationary systems.
• The change in the total energy E of a stationary system is
identical to the change in its internal energy U (i.e., E = U).
In this text, a closed system is assumed to be stationary unless
stated otherwise. 8
 Internal Energy
The sum of all the microscopic forms of energy is called the internal
energy (U) of a system.
• Related to the molecular structure and the degree of molecular activity
• Can be viewed as the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of the molecules

The portion of the internal

energy of a system associated
with the kinetic energies of the
molecules is called the sensible
energy.
• The average velocity and the degree
of activity of molecules are
proportional to the temperature of the
gas
• Higher the temperature, higher the kinetic
energies, higher the internal energy

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 Internal Energy (continued)
• The internal energy is also associated with various
binding forces between the molecules of a substance,
between the atoms within a molecule, and between the
particles within an atom and its nucleus.
• The molecular binding forces are strongest in solids and weakest in
gases.

• If sufficient energy is added to the molecules of a solid or

liquid, the molecules overcome these molecular forces
and break away, turning the substance into a gas.
• This is a phase-change process.
• Because of this added energy, a system in the gas phase is at a
higher internal energy level than it is in the solid or the liquid phase.
• The internal energy associated with the phase of a system is called
the latent energy.
For most practical problems in thermodynamics, one does not need to
pay any attention to the atomic binding forces in a molecule.
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 Internal Energy (continued)
• Thermal Energy = Sensible Energy + Latent Energy
• Chemical Energy: The internal energy associated with
the atomic bonds in a molecule.
• Nuclear Energy: The tremendous amount of energy
associated with the strong bonds within the nucleus of the
atom itself.

Thermal Energy Chemical Energy Nuclear Energy

The internal energy of a system is the sum of

all forms of the microscopic energies. 11
Consider a room whose door and
windows are tightly closed, and whose
walls are well-insulated so that heat
loss or gain through the walls is
negligible. Now let’s place a
refrigerator in the middle of the room
with its door open, and plug it into a
wall outlet.
Now, what do you think will happen to
the average temperature of air in the
room? Will it be increasing or
decreasing? Or will it remain constant?

?
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 Let’s Think

A candle is burning in a well-

insulated room. Taking the
room (the air plus the
candle) as the system,
determine:
(a) if there is any heat
transfer during this
burning process? Q = ?
(b) if there is any change in
the internal energy of the U = ?
system? 13
Thanks

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