this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2024
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Showerthoughts

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If a machine is never 100% efficient transforming energy into work because part of the energy is converted into heat, does it mean an electric heater is 100% efficient? [@showerthoughts@lemmy.world](h (social.graves.cl)
submitted 9 months ago by alvaro@social.graves.cl to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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If a machine is never 100% efficient transforming energy into work because part of the energy is converted into heat, does it mean an electric heater is 100% efficient? @showerthoughts@lemmy.world

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[–] Tramort@programming.dev 6 points 9 months ago

Yes. The end form of all energy is heat.

The problem is that heat is a high-entropy source of energy. As a result, the losses come when you try to convert all that delicious heat back into electricity (like with a steam turbine). The "efficiencies" only go one way (and I put efficiencies in quotes because, as you pointed out, getting energy into the form of heat is inevitable, whether that's the form you wanted or not)