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The term "thermal energy" is often used ambiguously in physics and engineering.[1] It can denote several different physical concepts, including:
- Internal energy: The energy contained within a body of matter or radiation, excluding the potential energy of the whole system, and excluding the kinetic energy of the system moving as a whole.
- Heat: Energy in transfer between a system and its surroundings by mechanisms other than thermodynamic work and transfer of matter.
- The characteristic energy kBT associated with a single microscopic degree of freedom, where T denotes temperature and kB denotes the Boltzmann constant.
Mark Zemansky (1970) has argued that the term “thermal energy” is best avoided due to its ambiguity. He suggests using more precise terms such as “internal energy” and “heat” to avoid confusion.[1] The term is, however, used in some textbooks.[2]
- ^ a b Zemansky, Mark W. (1970-09-01). "The Use and Misuse of the Word "Heat" in Physics Teaching". The Physics Teacher. 8 (6): 295–300. Bibcode:1970PhTea...8..295Z. doi:10.1119/1.2351512. ISSN 0031-921X.
- ^ For example: Knight, Randall Dewey (2008). Physics for Scientists and Engineers. San Francisco: Pearson Addison Wesley. ISBN 978-0-8053-2736-6. OCLC 148732206.