|
upper limit on temperature?
|
|
Is there an upper limit on the temperature of matter? If temperature is defined as the average kinetic energy of particles in a sample of matter then wouldn’t the speed of light serve as an upper limit on how “hot†anything can get? E=1/2 M*V^2 would seem to suggest a definite limit because velocity cannot exceed the speed of light. Perhaps more baffling was the responses I received from two professors I queried on the subject (chemistry and astronomy). Both gave a very uncertain reply of, “I don’t think so.†My reasoning may well be flawed here but it sure seems that temperature would be restricted by more than absolute zero and the banal answer of the universe being a closed system with a finite amount of matter and energy. Thank you |
|
Re: upper limit on temperature?
|
|
I don't know if this really relates, but I think I read once that there was an expariment done in which the outcome was a particle moving faster than the speed of light. But maybe it was just a dream, I'm not sure...
Wise Man says: "Take a dog off its leash and it will wander."
|
|
Re: upper limit on temperature?
Link |
by
on 2006-07-23 09:34:31 (edited 2006-07-23 09:43:33)
|
|
Yes, there would be a limit on the possible heat of a system. However, in practice, you cannot reach this limit, for it is exponential. It is, as you suggested, literally the same problem as approaching the velocity c. Let us use a pot of boiling water, for example. You see, as the heat is added to the system (the water), the internal kinetic energy increases. Since energy and mass are related, the mass (defined as "resistance to being accelerated", totally separate from the carrier of gravitational force!) increases, as well. As the mass increases, it becomes harder and harder to add heat to the system. In the case of water, it evaporates away before we can observe this phenomena. If one were to actaully do this experiment, heat radiation would also have to be taken into account. Even if conduction and convection were nullified by a super-container, radiation would still cause heat loss increasing exponentially with tempature. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck%27s_law_of_black-body_radiation) So, the hottest we can heat a pot of water is not restricted simply by the approach of the speed of light (herein described as increasing mass), but also by the ability to contain the heat from radiating away, which is a much more difficult challenge! @engineer: There is no meaning to "a particle moving faster than the speed of light (in a vacuum)". No experiment EVER showed information traveling faster than c! 
|
|
Re: upper limit on temperature?
Link |
by SuicidopoliS
on 2006-10-21 13:19:08
|
|
That is except for "Quantum-teleportation"... Even if the big question is indeed if there's is some kind of information exchange. .oO° Life's THE CURE, the rest are details! °Oo. |
|
Re: upper limit on temperature?
|
|
In theory yes as gendou says...there is a cap on high a temperature can go. Even if we made the system say - The universe! - the universe only has so much enery. and temperature is only the result of added energy. Thus in any system, there is a finite amount of energy. Even if we could isolate ALL the energy in the universe there would still be a max energy output!
Anime rox ç§ã¯pro =D
|