Question

A steam turbine is a device in which high-pressure steam enters the turbine and causes blades to spin. The spinning blades have mechanical energy.
Which best describes what happens in this system?



The turbine absorbs heat, which creates kinetic energy in the system and produces work to turn the blades.


The turbine destroys some of the thermal energy in the steam, which generates work and turns the blades.


The turbine generates heat from the steam, and some of the heat creates work and turns the blades.


Some of the heat used to make the steam is transformed into work as the steam pushes against the blades to make them turn.

Answer 1

The answer is Some of the heat used to make the steam is transformed into work as the steam pushes against the blades to make them turn. This also observes the law of conservation in thermodynamics. The kinetic energy in the steam helps push the blades and is converted to mechanical energy. Some of the energy is lost since it is never 100% efficient.

Answer 2

Answer : Option D) Some of the heat used to make the steam is transformed into work as the steam pushes against the blades to make them turn.

Explanation :

According to the first law of thermodynamics, the energy of an isolated system always remains constant. Also, it follows the law of conservation of energy which states energy is neither created nor destroyed it is only transferred from one form to another. In this case, the steam turbine is the isolated system wherein with a high pressure steam the kinetic energy of the steam is getting converted into mechanical energy to produce electricity or heat.