Energy and Thermal Physics

Energy is an abstract concept and it can be hard to get a feel for the quantity of energy transferred in different events.

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

A wonderfully detailed list of the energy expenditures of various activities has been produced.

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

Vegetarian diets have a significant environmental benefit in terms of the energy costs of production.

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

The word ‘energy’ originates from the Greek energhéia, a concept Aristotle linked with the idea of hypothetical entities...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

An important factor in the failure of Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to the South Pole was an error in estimating the energy...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

When engaged in a difficult task, you may have justified the consumption of a sweet treat based on the belief that the sugar...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

Another proposer of the principle of conservation of energy, Benjamin Thompson (later, Count Rumford), was born in Woburn...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

Joseph Black, who became professor of medicine and chemistry at Glasgow University, was born in Bordeaux in 1728 to a family...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

It seems intuitive that, when energy is added to a system, its temperature will rise. Hence, the notion of negative heat...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

The Greek historian Herodotus reported that, once the site had been prepared, it took 100,000 men twenty years to build the...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

The horsepower unit derives from a marketing gimmick devised by James Watt. When attempting to sell his newly invented steam...

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16

Despite his financial success, Watt was not a natural businessman and he wrote in a letter:

Stories from Physics 11-14 14-16