On the Work by Electricity in the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics

In the first law of thermodynamics analysis, energy transfer by electrical heating elements placed in a system or control volume has been traditionally classified as the electrical work. This classification has been an accepted norm since it neither violates the physical principles nor creates any problems in defining other forms of non-mechanical work in the first-law analysis. However, this practice seems to present a significant problem pertaining to the reversible work and the irreversibility in the second-law analysis. In this paper, a number of exercise problems containing electrical heating elements have been examined. They were solved by the traditional way for the second-law analysis which produced some questionable results regarding the reversible work and the irreversibility. The apparent discrepancies in the relationship of actual work, reversible work, and the irreversibility might be caused by a combination of the entropy generation during the energy addition process, the initial properties of the system and the surroundings. Based on this study, a change seems warranted for the first and second laws analysis relating to the electrical work.