LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS AND THE HUMAN BODY
CHANDRA SHEKAR BESTA, B Tech(III – 2nd /IV)
Department of Chemical Engineering
Padmasri Dr B V Raju Institute of technology (BVRIT),
Affiliated to JNTU – Hyderabad, Narsapur – 502313 A.P., INDIA
# +91–0–9490511583, chandu.12614.che@bvrit.ac.in
Abstract – All living systems need energy to
function. It is obvious that Humans need food to
live, but the reason for this is less obvious. The idea
that Humans need energy because they consume
energy is, strictly speaking, incorrect. The body can
work only from chemical energy. Living organisms
are also thermodynamic entities, in which thermal
process are characterized by energy flows and fluxes
both within the body, and between the body and its
environment.
Key Words – Function, Consume, Thermal gradient,
comfortable, Liver.
Introduction –The body does not consume energy;
it changes it from one from to another. The body
does not have a mechanism to convert the other
forms of energy into work. Even if the body did have
mechanisms for using heat to perform work, the
amount of work it could obtain in this way would be
small. Energy is also transformed from the cells to
their surroundings by conduction because of thermal
gradient created between the cells and their
environment. The body temperature is stable as long
as the production of energy equals the energy loss. A
human body feels comfortable thermodynamically
when the heat produced by the metabolism of human
body is equal to the sum of the heat dissipated to the
surroundings and the heat stored in human body by
raising the temperature of body tissues. Heat - is a
form of energy called thermal energy. Most of the
heat produced in the body is generated in the deep
organs, especially in the liver, brain, heart and the
skeletal muscles during exercise. In humans energy
is transformed to the surroundings at the skin’s
interface with the air outside. Heat loss takes place
by three (four) different mechanisms.
The body takes in energy that is in the chemical
bonds of the food molecules and converts it to heat.
Heat - is a form of energy called thermal energy
(energy of the inert molecules and the atomic
interactions). If the weight and the temperature of
the body remain constant and if the body performs
no external work, the energy input to the body
equals exactly the energy leaving the body. The heat
must be dissipated because, unlike heat engines, the
body does not have the ability to obtain work from
heat energy.
Of all the various from of energy, the body can
utilize only the chemical binding energy of the
molecules which constitute food. The body can work
only from chemical energy. Even if the body did
have mechanisms for using heat to perform work,
the amount of work it could obtain in this way would
be small. The body does not have a mechanism to
convert the other forms of energy into work.
We will now through a more detailed examination
how the laws of thermodynamics relate to the
energetic of the body. We know from the First law
of thermodynamics that energy is conserved. The
body does not consume energy, it changes it from
one from to another. In fact the first law could lead
us to the erroneous conclusion that humans should
be able to function without a source of external
energy. For an energy balance, under steady-state
conditions where the core body temperature and the
ambient temperature remain constant, the quantity of
energy produced will equal the quantity of energy
dissipated. Hence, it is possible to invoke the first
law of thermodynamics to the body. The total energy
produced in the body is called the metabolic rate
( ). It is related to the metabolic energy
production of the body ( ), and the external work
done by the body ( ), by the expression:
The amount of disorder in a system can be
expressed quantitatively by means of a concept
called entropy. The second law governs changes that
act in the direction in which entropy increases. The
second law helps to explain both the direction and
attainment of equilibrium in metabolic process. The
body is highly ordered system. We know from the
Second law of thermodynamics that such a highly
ordered system, life to itself, tends to become
disordered, and once it is disordered, it ceases to
function. Once again, the second law stets the limit.
The temperature differences in the body are small –
not more then about 7ºC between the interior and the
exterior. Calculations show that, in all cases, the
increase in the entropy (disorder) in the surroundings
produced by the living system is always greater than
the decrease in entropy (i.e., ordering) obtained in
the living system itself. If a metabolic process occurs
in a particular direction, does it also occurs in the
reverse manner?
In the oxidation of glucose a certain amount
of energy is ‘wasted’. Thus, the process is
not 100% efficient. The ‘waste’ is the
production of energy as heat – a prerequisite
for maintaining the core body temperature.
This ‘wasted’ energy is the driving force for
the direction in which a metabolic process
should go. The idea of potential energy is a
useful starting point for trying to predict
whether a biochemical reaction will occur
and in which direction it will occur.
If one drops a mass, its potential energy is
transformed into kinetic energy and then into heat,
sound and, light. As a result, the entropy of the
surroundings (i.e., the Universe) will increase. The
change in entropy is a function of the energy
transformed from the body.
This, equation can be applied in the
form: This equation
implies that if energy is lost from a body, indicated
by the negative sign, then will
increase.
Mechanism to increase body temperature
Increase of internal metabolic activity by shivering
increase of blood transport, better heat conduction
between different body parts. Mechanism to
decrease body temperature Sweating, heat loss
through evaporation (up to 0ne Lt/hr) latent heat of
sweat ≡580 kcal/Lt
Heat is lost is determined almost entirely by two
factors: first, how rapidly heat can be conducted
from where it is produced in the body core to the
skin and how rapidly heat can then be transferred
from the skin to the surroundings. The complete
energy exchange between the organism and the
environment is presented as:
Radiation Loss of heat by radiation means loss in
the form of infrared heat rays, a type of
electromagnetic wave. Most infrared heat rays that
radiate from the body have wavelengths of 5 to 20
micrometers, 10 to 30 times the wavelengths of
lights rays. The human body radiates heat rays in all
directions. Heat rays are also being radiated from the
walls and other objects towards the body. Heat loss
due to radiation is described by:
This approximation is however only valid for:
0ºC≤Ta≤40ºC, 3º0C≤Tskin≤40C
Conduction Only one minute quantities of heat are
normally lost from the body by direct conduction
from the surface of the body to other objects, such a
chair or a bed. On the other hand, loss of heat by
conduction to air does represent a sizable proportion
of the body’s heat loss even under normal
conditions. It will be recalled that heat is actually the
kinetic energy of molecular motion and the
molecules of the skin are continually undergoing
vibratory motion. Much of the energy of this motion
can be transferred to the air if the air is colder than
the skin, thus increasing the velocity of motion of
the air molecules.
Convection The removal of heat from the body by
convection air currents is commonly called heat loss
by convection. Actually the heat must first be
conducted to the air and then carried away. A small
amount of convection almost always occurs around
the body because of the tendency for the air adjacent
to the skin to rise as it becomes heated. However
heat losses via conduction ( ) through the
layers of cloth with thickness (L) can occur:
Evaporation It is mainly reserved for sweat glands.
If human body temperature is on normal level (under
37ºC) the evaporation of 1 liter sweat loses about 2.4
MJ (580 kcal) from organism. Even when a person is
not sweating, water still evaporates insensibly from
the skin and lungs at a rate of about 450 to 600 ml
per day. This causes continual heat loss at a rate of
12 to 16 cal per hour.
Acknowledgment –
Authors thank Dr Ramakrishna Scientist “F”, IICT
(Retired Director) , Prof. in Dept of Chemical Engg,
BVRIT and also Prof Altaf Hussain, HOD of the
Department
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