Cameron Miranda
The law of conservation of energy, also known as the first law of thermodynamics, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. The first major breakthrough in understanding this principle came from Galileo in 1639, but the law was not established until the 1840s, with key contributions from Julius Robert Mayer, James Prescott Joule, and Hermann von Helmholtz. The phrase law of conservation of energy was first used by Scottish mathematician William Rankine in 1850, and in 1851-52, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and William J.M. Rankine began to use the word energy to denote any kind of force across all branches of science.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First used the phrase | Scottish mathematician William Rankine |
| First used the phrase year | 1850 |
| The principle originated with | Isaac Newton |
| Year the principle originated | 1687 |
| First major breakthrough | Cannon-boring |
| Second major breakthrough | Done by a doctor |
| Third major breakthrough | Done by a brewer |
| Discovered the basics of the law of conservation of energy | Julius Robert Mayer, James Prescott Joule, and Hermann von Helmholtz |
| Year the basics of the law of conservation of energy were discovered | 1842-1847 |
| First used the word "energy" | William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and William J. M. Rankine |
| Year the word "energy" was first used | 1851-1852 |
| Established the general equivalence of energy and mass | Albert Einstein |
| Year the general equivalence of energy and mass was established | 1905 |
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What You'll Learn
Galileo's work in 1639 laid the foundation
The law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant and is conserved over time. This means that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed or transferred from one form to another. For example, chemical energy is converted to kinetic energy when a stick of dynamite explodes.
In 1639, Galileo published his analysis of several situations, including the "interrupted pendulum", which can be described as conservatively converting potential energy to kinetic energy and back again. In modern terms, he pointed out that the height a moving body rises is equal to the height from which it falls, and he used this observation to infer the idea of inertia. This was a remarkable insight because it showed that the height to which a moving body ascends on a frictionless surface is independent of the shape of the surface.
Galileo's work laid the foundation for understanding the conservation of energy. He investigated the problem of energy conversion during his experiments on motion along an inclined, hard, smooth plane, which is also equally or uniformly accelerated. Through these experiments, he concluded that a perfectly round moving body acquires equal final speeds when moving down planes of different inclinations, as long as the heights of these planes are equal. This conclusion demonstrated his understanding of the concept of conservation of energy and set the stage for further developments in the field.
Following Galileo's work, Christiaan Huygens published a brief account of his laws of collision in 1669. He listed the sum of linear momenta and kinetic energies as invariant before and after the collision of bodies. However, the distinction between elastic and inelastic collisions was not yet understood. It was not until 1687 that Isaac Newton published his Principia, which set out his laws of motion centred on force and momentum.
In the 19th century, scientists such as William Robert Grove, Hermann von Helmholtz, and William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) made significant contributions to the understanding of energy. They recognised various manifestations of a single "force" and began using the term "energy" to denote any kind of force across scientific disciplines. This led to the general acceptance of the principle of conservation of energy and its modern form.
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The phrase was coined by William Rankine in 1850
The law of conservation of energy is a fundamental principle of physics, stating that energy in a closed system remains constant and is not created or destroyed but only transformed from one form to another. While the concept of energy conservation has a long history, dating back to the works of Galileo and Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century, the phrase "the law of the conservation of energy" was first coined by Scottish mathematician William Rankine in 1850.
Rankine's introduction of the phrase marked a significant milestone in the development of the concept. Between 1842 and 1847, scientists Julius Robert von Mayer, James Prescott Joule, and Hermann von Helmholtz formulated the basics of what we now refer to as the law of conservation of energy. However, they used terms like "living force," "tensional force," or "fall-force" instead of the word "energy." It was Rankine, along with William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), who began to use the word "energy" consistently across different branches of science starting in 1851–1852.
The choice of the word "energy" was influenced by its Greek origin, "enérgeia," which was developed by Aristotle and has no direct translation in English. The adoption of the term "energy" helped unify the concept and paved the way for its generalization in scientific and common speech. By the time Albert Einstein established the equivalence of energy and mass with his theory of relativity in 1905, the modern concept of "energy" had taken shape.
The law of conservation of energy has had a profound impact on physics and our understanding of the natural world. It led to important discoveries, such as the existence of the neutrino, and proved the non-existence of perpetual motion machines. The principle also has practical applications, as seen in everyday situations like driving a car, where chemical energy in fuel is converted into kinetic energy of motion.
In conclusion, while the law of conservation of energy builds on centuries of scientific discoveries, the coining of the phrase by William Rankine in 1850 played a pivotal role in shaping the modern understanding and usage of the concept of energy in science and everyday life.
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The basics were formulated in the 1840s
The law of conservation of energy is a fundamental principle of physics that states that energy in a closed system remains constant and is not created or destroyed but converted from one form to another. The basics of this law were formulated in the 1840s by Julius Robert Mayer, James Prescott Joule, and Hermann von Helmholtz. During this period, it was conclusively demonstrated that the concept of energy could be expanded to encompass the heat produced by friction. This discovery led to the formulation of the first law of thermodynamics, which states that the truly conserved quantity is the sum of kinetic, potential, and thermal energy.
The work of these pioneers built upon earlier contributions by Galileo and Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century. Galileo's analysis of the "interrupted pendulum" demonstrated the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy and back again. Similarly, Huygens' laws of collision highlighted the conservation of kinetic energy in collisions. However, the distinction between elastic and inelastic collisions was not yet understood.
Isaac Newton's "Principia," published in 1687, marked the beginning of quantitative theoretical physics. However, the law of conservation of energy was not established until the 1840s, over a century later. The early history of the discovery of this law can be characterised as a journey through "booms, blood, and beer." The three key discoveries were made through cannon-boring, medical research, and brewing.
In the 1850s, the term "energy" was popularised by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and William J. M. Rankine, who used it to refer to any form of "force" across scientific disciplines. This marked a significant step towards the generalisation of the concept of energy. In 1850, Rankine first used the phrase "the law of the conservation of energy" to describe this principle.
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The law was generalised by Einstein in 1905
The law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant and is conserved over time. This means that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can only be transferred from one form to another. For example, chemical energy is converted to kinetic energy when a stick of dynamite explodes.
The concept of energy conservation was first discovered and formulated between 1842 and 1847 by Julius Robert von Mayer, James Prescott Joule, and Hermann von Helmholtz. However, the term "energy" was not used until 1851-1852 when William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and William J. M. Rankine began to use it across all branches of science.
In 1905, Albert Einstein established the general equivalence of energy and mass with his theory of special relativity. This theory showed that rest mass corresponds to an equivalent amount of rest energy, and that mass and energy are different forms of the same thing. This was a revolutionary idea that had eluded scientists for centuries.
With his theory, Einstein generalized the concept of energy into the form used today. He showed that mass-energy equivalence means that rest mass can be converted to or from equivalent amounts of non-material forms of energy, such as kinetic energy, potential energy, and electromagnetic radiant energy. This discovery prompted a rethinking of the fundamental laws of physics and the relationship between mass and energy.
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It was influenced by Newton's 1687 Principia
The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another. The idea of this law was first explored by Galileo in 1639, who analysed the concept of conservatively converting potential energy to kinetic energy and vice versa. However, it was not until 1842-1847 that Julius Robert von Mayer, James Prescott Joule and Hermann von Helmholtz formulated the basics of what we now refer to as the law of conservation of energy.
In 1687, Isaac Newton published his 'Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica' (often referred to as simply 'Principia'), which set out his laws of motion. The book was organised around the concepts of force and momentum. While Newton did not explicitly state the law of conservation of energy, his work did lay the groundwork for later physicists to develop the principle. For instance, in 1877, Peter Guthrie Tait claimed that the principle originated with Newton, based on a creative reading of propositions 40 and 41 of the 'Principia'. This view is now regarded as an example of Whig history.
Newton's work was heavily influenced by natural philosophers who preceded him, such as Galileo. Newton's 'Principia' also built upon the work of earlier researchers, including Willem 's Gravesande, who in 1722 devised an experiment in which balls were dropped from different heights into a sheet of soft clay. Émilie du Châtelet repeated and publicised this experiment in 1746, testing and proposing the hypothesis of the conservation of total energy, as distinct from momentum.
Newton's laws can be used to derive parts of the conservation of energy. For example, the work-energy theorem, a concept derived from Newton's second law, directly ties into energy conservation by stating that the work done on an object is equal to the change in its kinetic energy. However, it is important to note that the conservation of energy principle also contains aspects, such as the conservation of potential or thermal energy, that cannot be derived directly from Newton's laws. Therefore, while the two concepts are related, the conservation of energy principle is not merely a restatement of Newton's laws. It is more extensive and includes energy transformations beyond just those that involve mechanical work.
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Frequently asked questions
The basics of the law of conservation of energy were discovered and formulated between 1842 and 1847 by Julius Robert Mayer, James Prescott Joule, and Hermann von Helmholtz.
The Scottish mathematician William Rankine first used the phrase "the law of the conservation of energy" in 1850.
Isaac Newton's 1687 publication of Principia marked the start of quantitative theoretical physics, but the law of conservation of energy was not established until the 1840s. Peter Guthrie Tait claimed in 1877 that the principle originated with Newton, but this is now considered inaccurate.
