Question

Give an example of how the environment can affect energy transfer.

Answer 1

The electric current running through power lines is one of the examples where the environment affects the energy transfer.

Explanation:

Whenever there is an energy transfer between two systems, some factors existing in the environment hinder the law of conservation of energy. Let’s take an example of power lines.

When current flows through the power lines, the electrons move inside the wires. The surface of the wires exert an equal and opposite friction to the nearest electrons.

This results in the loss of some electrical energy which converted into heat and exerted out through the wires in the environment. Thus, we don’t have the exact amount of electrical energy which was transferred to our homes. The loss of energy can be calculated in terms of efficiency, formulated as,

$\text {Efficiency}=\left(\frac{\text {Total energy applied}}{\text {energy gained}}\right) \times 100$