Is thermal energy removed or added in melting and what happens when thermal energy is added to temperature?
Murtadha Shukur
When a solid melts, thermal energy is actually added, not removed. This might seem counterintuitive, but here's the explanation:
Melting and Temperature:
- In a solid, particles are tightly packed and vibrate around fixed positions. Adding thermal energy increases the vibrational energy of these particles.
- At the melting point, this added energy is not used to further increase vibration, but rather to overcome the intermolecular forces holding the particles in place.
- Breaking these forces allows the particles to move more freely, resulting in the liquid state.
- So, even though the temperature remains constant during melting (isothermal process), the substance is still gaining thermal energy.
Thermal Energy and Temperature:
- Generally, adding thermal energy to a substance increases its temperature. This is because the added energy increases the average kinetic energy of the particles, making them vibrate and move faster.
- However, in phase changes like melting, the added energy goes towards breaking intermolecular forces instead of directly increasing temperature. It's like overcoming a hurdle before accelerating further.
Here's an analogy: Imagine shaking a basket of marbles. At first, their shaking intensifies (temperature increase). But to scatter them completely (melting), you need to add more energy to overcome their friction (intermolecular forces), even though the individual shaking (vibration) might not increase much.
So, remember:
- Melting requires adding thermal energy.
- Generally, adding thermal energy increases temperature (except in phase changes).
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