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If a machine is never 100% efficient transforming energy into work because part of the energy is converted into heat, does it mean an electric heater is 100% efficient? @showerthoughts@lemmy.world

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[-] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 8 points 9 months ago

and that light hits stuff and gets converted to heat.

[-] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 2 points 8 months ago

That heat also powers certain chemical reactions happening on the surface of the hot wire. It’s not a lot of energy, but it’s still something. Light and sound tend to be converted back to heat at some point, but chemical transformations can be more stable, which would result in a tiny loss of efficiency.

this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2024
248 points (97.3% liked)

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