question archive The Law of the Conservation of Energy means that within the closed system that is being observed, no energy can be created or lost
The Law of the Conservation of Energy means that within the closed system that is being observed, no energy can be created or lost
Subject:PhysicsPrice: Bought3
The Law of the Conservation of Energy means that within the closed system that is being observed, no energy can be created or lost.
Ex. In a car crash, a 1000 kg car traveling at 10 m/s collides with a solid brick wall. After the collision, the car crumples and ceases to move.
While this may perhaps seem to violate the Conservation of Energy Law (50,000 joules of Kinetic Energy seem to simply disappear, after all), in fact the car loses its energy by way of sound, chemical, potential, and innumerable other forms of energy into the surrounding universe. Thus the "system" of the interaction includes the space surrounding the car, and none of the energy is lost in the crash.
