energy balance law

noun
UK /ˈɛnədʒi ˈbæləns lɔː/
US /ˈɛnərdʒi ˈbæləns lɔː/

The energy balance law says that energy can't be made or lost, only changed from one form to another.

The energy balance law explains why a swinging pendulum slowly stops as its motion turns into heat.

SYNONYMS

conservation of energyfirst law of thermodynamicslaw of energy conservationenergy conservation principle

RELATED WORDS

energythermodynamicsworkheatsystem

OTHER MEANINGS

2. In nutrition, the idea that weight stays the same when the energy you eat equals the energy you burn.

Nutritionists use the energy balance law to explain why eating more than you burn leads to weight gain.

3. In ecology, the principle that the energy entering an ecosystem equals the energy stored plus the energy leaving it.

Ecologists applied the energy balance law to track sunlight flowing through the food web.

4. In engineering, a rule for checking that all energy inputs to a machine equal its useful output plus losses.

The engineers used the energy balance law to find where heat was escaping from the engine.