First Law of Thermodynamics

E314339

conservation law law of thermodynamics physical law

The First Law of Thermodynamics is the fundamental physical principle that states energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed or transferred, thereby conserving the total energy of an isolated system.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
first law of thermodynamics	3
Erstem Hauptsatz der Thermodynamik	1
First Law of Thermodynamics canonical	1
energy conservation law in thermodynamics	1
law of conservation of energy	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2971085 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: First Law of Thermodynamics
Context triple: [On the Conservation of Force, relatedTo, First Law of Thermodynamics]

A. Kelvin–Planck statement of the second law of thermodynamics
The Kelvin–Planck statement of the second law of thermodynamics asserts that it is impossible to construct a cyclic heat engine that converts all absorbed heat from a single reservoir entirely into work without any other effect.
B. Clausius theorem
The Clausius theorem is a fundamental result in thermodynamics that formalizes the second law by relating the cyclic integral of heat transfer over temperature to entropy, showing that this quantity is always less than or equal to zero for any cyclic process.
C. First Law
First Law is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov that explores the consequences of a robot apparently violating the foundational Three Laws of Robotics.
D. Clausius statement of the second law of thermodynamics
The Clausius statement of the second law of thermodynamics asserts that heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder body to a hotter body without external work being performed.
E. third law of thermodynamics
The third law of thermodynamics is a fundamental principle stating that the entropy of a perfect crystal approaches zero as its temperature approaches absolute zero, forming a basis for absolute entropy measurements and low-temperature physics.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: First Law of Thermodynamics
Target entity description: The First Law of Thermodynamics is the fundamental physical principle that states energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed or transferred, thereby conserving the total energy of an isolated system.

A. Kelvin–Planck statement of the second law of thermodynamics
The Kelvin–Planck statement of the second law of thermodynamics asserts that it is impossible to construct a cyclic heat engine that converts all absorbed heat from a single reservoir entirely into work without any other effect.
B. Clausius theorem
The Clausius theorem is a fundamental result in thermodynamics that formalizes the second law by relating the cyclic integral of heat transfer over temperature to entropy, showing that this quantity is always less than or equal to zero for any cyclic process.
C. First Law
First Law is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov that explores the consequences of a robot apparently violating the foundational Three Laws of Robotics.
D. Clausius statement of the second law of thermodynamics
The Clausius statement of the second law of thermodynamics asserts that heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder body to a hotter body without external work being performed.
E. third law of thermodynamics
The third law of thermodynamics is a fundamental principle stating that the entropy of a perfect crystal approaches zero as its temperature approaches absolute zero, forming a basis for absolute entropy measurements and low-temperature physics.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	conservation law ⓘ law of thermodynamics ⓘ physical law ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	energy conservation law in thermodynamics ⓘ linked to: First Law of Thermodynamics law of conservation of energy ⓘ linked to: First Law of Thermodynamics
appliesTo	closed systems ⓘ isolated systems ⓘ open systems ⓘ
assumes	energy is a state function ⓘ internal energy depends on the state of the system ⓘ
constrains	possible thermodynamic processes of a system ⓘ
contrastsWith	Second Law of Thermodynamics which introduces entropy and irreversibility ⓘ
definesSymbol	Q as heat added to the system ⓘ W as work done by the system ⓘ ΔU as change in internal energy of the system ⓘ
expressedIn	dU = δQ − δW in differential form ⓘ
field	physics ⓘ thermodynamics ⓘ
historicalDevelopmentInvolves	Hermann von Helmholtz ⓘ James Prescott Joule ⓘ Julius Robert von Mayer ⓘ Rudolf Clausius ⓘ
historicalRoot	principle of conservation of vis viva ⓘ
implies	no device can produce work without energy input ⓘ perpetual motion machines of the first kind are impossible ⓘ
isFoundationFor	analysis of heat engines ⓘ analysis of refrigerators and heat pumps ⓘ energy conservation in classical thermodynamics ⓘ thermodynamic energy balance equations ⓘ
isPartOf	four laws of thermodynamics ⓘ
mathematicalForm	ΔU = Q − W ⓘ
precedes	Second Law of Thermodynamics ⓘ linked to: second law of thermodynamics Third Law of Thermodynamics ⓘ linked to: third law of thermodynamics
relatedTo	Noether’s theorem ⓘ linked to: Noether's theorem Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics ⓘ linked to: zeroth law of thermodynamics conservation of mechanical energy ⓘ
relatesConcept	energy transfer ⓘ energy transformation ⓘ heat ⓘ internal energy ⓘ work ⓘ
states	energy can only be transformed from one form to another or transferred between systems ⓘ energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system ⓘ the total energy of an isolated system remains constant ⓘ
timePeriodOfFormulation	19th century ⓘ
usedIn	astrophysics ⓘ chemical thermodynamics ⓘ climate science ⓘ engineering thermodynamics ⓘ statistical mechanics ⓘ

How these facts were elicited