ABSTRACT
Nuclear heat transfer and fluid flow are based on a set of empirical laws that have become known as the three laws of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics was proposed in the early 1800s when it became apparent that heat energy could be converted into mechanical energy and work. There are at least a dozen alternative statements of the second law of thermodynamics that can be found in heat transfer books. In addition to the second law of thermodynamics, there is a third law of thermodynamics that is related to the process of entropy generation and measurement. Heat transfer in nuclear power plants can occur through the processes of conduction or convection. In the world of nuclear power plants, heat is produced in what is called the reactor core. Nuclear engineers are interested in the change in the entropy of a system rather than the absolute value of the entropy itself.
