Conservation of Energy First Law of Thermodynamics
Total energy is conserved - this is even more basic than Newton’s laws
Energy comes in many forms. One form can be converted into another, but the total never changes!
Kinetic energy: energy of motion Potential energy: Stored energy (due to gravity, compressed springs, batteries, chemical reactions, . . . .) Heat: Hotter objects contain more energy Other: Nuclear, . . . .
(Later we will see that Einstein showed a different interpretation of this idea, but nevertheless the conservation law still applies!)