Science Common Sense

220 - What are the laws of thermodynamics?

There are four laws of thermodynamics. However, most people think about the main three:

1. Zeroth Law: It's like a 'name tag'. It helps us measure the temperature of objects. Temperature is like how hot or cold something is. If two objects touch and they are the same temperature, they are said to be in 'thermal equilibrium'.

2. First Law (Conservation of Energy): Energy can't be created or destroyed, only changed from one type to another. This means if you put energy into something, that energy doesn't just disappear. It either stays in the object or changes into a different kind of energy.

3. Second Law: It's about how things get messy. Think about making your bed. To make your bed, you need to put energy into it. But over time, your bed will get messy again on its own. This is because everything in the world likes to move from 'order' (like a clean room) to 'disorder' (like a messy room).

There's also a third part, often left out, but sometimes written as fourth.

1. Third Law (Third law of thermodynamics): 'It's very hard to get absolute zero'. 'Absolute zero' is the temperature at which everything would be at complete rest (or as still as possible). But the closer you get to that point, the more energy it takes. We're not really at the point to fully realize this concept and so only an idea for now for most, not commonly taught.