Is there a limit to the Law of Conservation of Energy?

Question

We know that energy can be transformed from one form into another. But is there a boundary to this conversion? What I mean is, if one form of energy gets transformed into some other form, it gets converted fractionally; that is, is it true that the WHOLE of one form of energy does not get converted WHOLLY into another form & gets converted only fractionally? If yes, then what could be the reason for this?
Why I ask this is that our daily life situations suggest that this indeed happens. For example, when we hit a bell, our mechanical energy is converted into sound & heat energy (mostly), and NOT to ONLY ONE of them, although they are converted in varying proportions, as is evident. Several such examples could be found.

If this were indeed true, then is this conversion RATE arbitrary or is it quantized? Mathematical explanation with equations, please....

Answer 1

A very perceptive question. The answer is both yes and no. No, there is no limit to conservation of energy. But YES, there is a limit of how much energy in any conversion process can be recovered.

These are, in fact, the first two laws of thermodynamics. The first law is conservation of energy, while the second law of thermodynamics (which can be stated in a number of different ways) says that in any conversion of energy from one form to another, the conversion will always lose a little of the useful energy in the form of heat. A more mathematical way of saying that is that in any closed system, the total amount of entropy never decreases. It can increase or stay the same, but it never decreases.

A complete mathematical discussion, good for a beginner, can be found here:

http://www.tim-thompson.com/entropy1.html

Answer 2

Mechanical forms of energy such as pressure, kinetic energy, potential energy, etc. can be converted to other forms of energy with efficiencies approaching 100%. Random thermal energy or heat can only be converted to other forms with an efficiency set by the work cycle characteristics, and specifically can never exceed the Carnot efficiency = (T_hot - T_cold)/T_hot as determined by the temps of the hot source and cold receiver.

In any conversion, the total energy is always conserved, so the sum of the energy in the effluent plus the extracted work will equal the energy in the feed to the cycle. Regarding your reference to quantization, Heisenberg allows short-term violations of the energy conservation principle, but useful work cannot be extracted from this loan process.

Edit: Not sure of your level, but the quantum mechanical analysis for a simple harmonic oscillator might be of interest. It shows the quantization effects on a system where potential and kinetic energies are swapping back and forth.

Answer 3

Be clear whether you are interested in conservation or conversion? 100% Energy can't conserved but yes 100 % is converted(Transformed).

You must understand this fact that the Energy transforms not in friction but 100%. This Transformation takes place in many ways as you described if you hit a bell some part of mechanical energy transform into sound and some part into heat.
Absolutely right, but think about pendulum like movement of bell itself.This particular action is also cause of Mechanical Energy Transformation and so on.
Come on you know the answer don't try to test others.

Answer 4

The law of conservation of energy is true and acts ideally in ideal conditions, other that that there is always frictional and conversion losses. we can minimise them but not zero. hence energy is never transformed to other 100%

Answer 5

hi brother,
if u really want to conserve energy try hiting a small bell.
the energy is conserved according to the size and the force.

Answer 6

relies upon on the way you think of roughly it. in case you're genuine ordinary human beings will have self assurance each little thing you're saying. not each regulation has adequate information provided which you hit upon information it rather is contradictory to the oringinal regulation.