Degradation of energy

Any process whereby available energy is converted into unavailable energy is called Dissipation (or degradation) of Energy. 

Again dPg represents useful work done, and dPi represents irreversible degradation of energy. 

In a somewhat similar thermodynamic argument, Scorah (Ref 2) stated that the work content for the C-J detonation state corresponds to a maximum degradation of energy. Zel dovich (Ref 4) demonstrated the unsatisfactory nature of the thermodynamic arguments by remarking that the increase in entropy across a shock is not sufficient to guarantee that a shock will form. A piston which compresses the gas is also necessary (Ref 6, p 142)... 

Introduction to metabolism Definition of catabolic and anabolic pathways INTRODUCTION TO METABOLISM (p. 89) Most pathways can be classified as either catabolic (they degrade complex molecules to a few simple products, such as C02, NH3, and water) or anabolic (they synthesize complex end-products from simple precursors). Catabolic reactions also capture chemical energy in the form of ATP from the degradation of energy-rich molecules. Anabolic reactions require energy, which is generally provided by the breakdown of ATP. 

So far, calculations have assumed that the energy of the excited state is equal to that of the absorbed photon. This is not the case for polychromatic radiation when a single absorber is used. Losses due to nonabsorption or the degradation of energy in excess of the excitation energy of A are generally not avoidable. The simplest and most important case with which we are concerned is that of an absorber with a threshold excitation wavelength if In a somewhat idealized form, the properties of a threshold converter are ... 

This derivation neglects the correction of kinetic energy loss due to nonuniformity of flow in both cross sections and the frictional degradation of energy during passage through the constriction. This is corrected by the introduction of a numerical coefficient, Cd ... 

The second law of thermodynamics is often stated to be the law of dissipation or degradation of energy however, this can lead to confusion because it seems to violate the first law of thermodynamics, a statement of conservation of energy. When the second law is stated in the above form, it is really referring to the degradation of the useable energy of a system. Entropy is therefore an indication of the degradation of a system or an index of the exhaustion of a system (4, p. 130). 

We see that for EELS analysis, the resolution is degraded only linearly with foil thickness. Comparison with the values in Table 3.1 shows that if the collector aperture is about 10 mrad, and the energy losses are 200 eV or more, nanometer resolution can be maintained for foils up to about 100 nm thick. This thickness coincides approximately with the mean free path for inelastic scattering, so that spectra from thicker foils suffer degradation of energy resolution anyway. 

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