3.1   Perspectives:  

  • Everything happens within the universe. The universe is all there is.


  • The universe is infinite - too large to do anything with. Also more than needed.




  • Curiosity about local events of finite parts or sections of the universe motivates thermodynamic analysis.




  • The universe is judiciously divided into two parts. The surroundings remain infinite. The system is finite. active part is the surroundings, the more active is the system.




  • Separation of the universe into surroundings and system requires skill. It can be done perfunctorialy but not just any system selection will suffice. While differing system perspectives are valid, some are more tractable than others. A principle consideration is the manner of mass movement (or non-movement) in space mass and manner of time involvement of the event under study.




  • A mental process is involved in system selection and preparation for analysis.




  • The discussion of reality, prior to doing any mechanical or thermodynamic analysis, involves ideas about an actuality. Manners of description and discussion of that actuality are "scenarios." Examples of a scenario might be a photograph or video (for analysis of things that exists). A "mission" plan or inventor's level sketch of something physical is a scenario.


  • The scenario is the general region or locale from which a system (with sketch) for analysis is extracted.


  • The system is "part of the universe" the remainder of the universe is called surroundings.


  • PATTERN SYSTEMS: Through the history of some 200 years engineers and scientists have use thermo to further understanding of the physical world, some "standardized" system types or categories have evolved. A Broad category is solid or fluid.

    Solids as systems are termed:



    things very small
    1) Particles, mon-atomic molecules, diatomic ("dumbell") molecules, polyatomic molecule

    things larger
    2) object, body, rigid body, extended body, composite body

    3) and also called "closed" or "control mass" systems.

    Fluids as systems are termed:



    incompressible, ideal fluid, or ideal gas

    open or closed

    TIME and its Characteristics

    SKETCHES AN APPORXINMATION