/sci/ - Science & Math

Do atoms eventually lose energy in a container?

>>6219701
>>6219742
yeah it's logical and has the highest probability.
think about it anon, the universe is expanding so the microstates are increasing ---> so entropy is increasing.
if you shake a box with 100 coins in it, you won't expect all 100 facing the same direction, rather a 50-50 distribution

>>4909353
forgot pic

Why are collisions where Kinetic Energy is preserved called "Elastic Collisions"?

When I hear "elastic", I think rubber, or something that is stretchable, compressible, has some give to it. That has been tripping me up for awhile now because a ball that compresses when it collides with something uses up kinetic energy when it flexes. I always have to correct myself.

>>2146091
Short answer: No.
Long answer: yes, but not really.

Heat is the random motion of particles. Key word being random. The random nature of heat means the quantity of heat transferred from system A to system B will not be exactly equal to the heat transfer from B to A at any point in time. This allows for imbalances to occur but do to the law of averages they are so tiny that they may as well not exist. Also due to the laws of heat transfer any changes in equilibrium will rectify themselves, not accrue over time.

>>2064084
I need to back up that heat is the random motion of particles? I thought this was basic knowledge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_theory
>>inb4 wikipedia not a good source.