Modern Engineering Thermodynamics

1.2 Why Is Thermodynamics Important Today? 3
FIGURE 1.3
Sustainable wind energy technology.
FIGURE 1.4
The Starship Enterprise in Star Trek. (Photo credit: Industrial Light & Magic, Copyright © 2008 by PARAMOUNT PICTURES. All Rights
Reserved.)
energy use equivalent to 3.00 mi 3 of oil each year. If the world energy demand continues at its present rate to
create the technologies of the future (e.g., the Starships of Figure 1.4), we will need an energy supply equivalent
to consuming an astounding 270 mi 3 of oil by 2050 (90 times more that we currently use). Where is all that
energy going to come from? How are we going to use energy more efficiently so that we do not need to use so
much? We address these and other questions in the study of thermodynamics.
The study of energy is of fundamental importance to all fields of engineering. Energy, like momentum, is a
unique subject and has a direct impact on virtually all technologies. In fact, things simply do not “work” without
a flow of energy through them. In this text, we show how the subject touches all engineering fields through
worked example problems and relevant homework problems at the end of the chapters.