USCG Exam PracticeThermodynamics and heat exchangers
According to the first law of thermodynamics, what happens to energy that appears to 'disappear' in a plant system?
- A. It is destroyed by friction and cannot be accounted for.
- ✓ It is converted to a less useful form, most often low-temperature heat rejected to the environment.Correct
- C. It is stored permanently within the working fluid.
- D. It is converted entirely into work by the turbine.
Why B is correct
DOE-HDBK-1012 §1-3 states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, and that energy that seems to disappear has been converted to a less useful form, most often low-temperature heat rejected to the environment. The first law requires full energy accounting.
Cited:DOE-HDBK-1012 §1-3