internal energy

internal energy

noun Thermodynamics.
a function of thermodynamic variables, as temperature, that represents the internal state of a system that is due to the energies of the molecular constituents of the system. The change in internal energy during a process is equal to the net heat entering the system minus the net work done by the system. Symbol: U

Origin:
1885–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Internal energy is always a great word to know.
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World English Dictionary
internal energy
 
n
U, E the thermodynamic property of a system that changes by an amount equal to the work done on the system when it suffers an adiabatic change. It is the sum of the kinetic and potential energies of its constituent atoms, molecules, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

internal energy

in thermodynamics, the property or state function that defines the energy of a substance in the absence of effects due to capillarity and external electric, magnetic, and other fields. Like any other state function, the value of the energy depends upon the state of the substance and not upon the nature of the processes by which it attained that state. In accordance with the first law of thermodynamics, when a system undergoes a change of state as a result of a process in which only work is involved, the work is equal to the change in internal energy. The law also implies that if both heat and work are involved in the change of state of a system, then the change in internal energy is equal to the heat supplied to the system minus the work done by the system

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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