The first law of thermodynamics holds that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, only converted from one form to another, so the total energy of an isolated system stays constant. It is the thermodynamic statement of the conservation of energy: when a system absorbs heat and does work, the change in its internal energy equals the heat absorbed minus the work done.
Facts
Proposed YearMarks Clausius's formal thermodynamic statement; it built on Joule's experimental work from 1843 to 1850. Proposed ByJames Prescott Joule's experiments in the 1840s establishing the mechanical equivalent of heat provided the empirical basis; Rudolf Clausius developed the principle into the formal first law of thermodynamics. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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