An ideal machine would have no friction, thus increasing efficiency to one hundred percent. However, this is not possible as there will always be friction. To make a machine as efficient as possible, you need to reduce the amount of friction the machine produces. This way, more of the input work is transferred to useful output work. The best way to do this, would be adding a lubricant. Lubricants are liquids or solids that reduce friction by filling in a gap between moving surfaces. A few common examples of lubricants are water, powders, greases, and oils. The most common application of lubricants are for protecting internal combustion engines in motor vehicles and powered equipment. A common example of a lubricant in use is when you mop the floor. Right after you mop the floor, you will notice that it is slippery. This is because water is also a good lubricant, thus causing the wet floor to be slippery. However, for some devices a lubricant cannot be used to decrease the frictional force. For instance, devices that produce thermal energy cannot use a lubricant to decrease their frictional force. An example would be a 75 watt incandescent light bulb that operates at about 125 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, only about 10% of the electricity is converted into light energy. On the other had a red-orange Light Emitting Diode (LED) operates at only 20 degrees Celcius with about 95% of the electricity converted into light energy. As a result, the Light Emitting Diode is much more efficient than the incandescent light bulb.
Common Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) _ A Common Incandescent Light Bulb
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Increasing Efficiency
An ideal machine would have no friction, thus increasing efficiency to one hundred percent. However, this is not possible as there will always be friction. To make a machine as efficient as possible, you need to reduce the amount of friction the machine produces. This way, more of the input work is transferred to useful output work. The best way to do this, would be adding a lubricant. Lubricants are liquids or solids that reduce friction by filling in a gap between moving surfaces. A few common examples of lubricants are water, powders, greases, and oils. The most common application of lubricants are for protecting internal combustion engines in motor vehicles and powered equipment. A common example of a lubricant in use is when you mop the floor. Right after you mop the floor, you will notice that it is slippery. This is because water is also a good lubricant, thus causing the wet floor to be slippery.
However, for some devices a lubricant cannot be used to decrease the frictional force. For instance, devices that produce thermal energy cannot use a lubricant to decrease their frictional force. An example would be a 75 watt incandescent light bulb that operates at about 125 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, only about 10% of the electricity is converted into light energy. On the other had a red-orange Light Emitting Diode (LED) operates at only 20 degrees Celcius with about 95% of the electricity converted into light energy. As a result, the Light Emitting Diode is much more efficient than the incandescent light bulb.
Common Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) _ A Common Incandescent Light Bulb