2.3.3. The Importance of Energy Dissipation
Duit (1984a) reinforces that the law of energy conservation hinders understanding of the
problems of energy supply, unless it is ‘relativised’ with energy degradation:
No other aspect in physics instruction is treated in such disproportion to its
significance. Ibid., p89

The simultaneity of the law of energy conservation and energy dissipation as an
educational principle is asserted by Brook and Wells (1988) and Duit and Häussler (1996).
They say everyday experience constantly opposes the law of energy conservation, through
energy apparently being ‘lost’ or ‘wasted’. Duit and Häussler (1996, p190), among many,
argue that the everyday energy concept is nearer to ‘degradation’ than conservation as
many processes do not reinforce the notion that energy is conserved. They also say that
the everyday energy concept is close to that described as ‘exergy’ (Ogborn, 1986). Their
recommendation is to start energy teaching from this point. Osborne and Freeman (1989)
note the ‘simplicity’ and ‘power’ of the second law of thermodynamics. Furthermore, they
do not suggest explicit treatment of the law of conservation because all classroom
evidence failed to support it.

Seminal works on this theme are Ross (1988) and Ross (1991). He strongly asserts that the
starting point for energy education should be the second law of thermodynamics in that
useful energy is used up. He argues that this is common experience rather than a
complicated idea which is only understandable at the level of entropy (see e.g. Hill and
Holman, 1987, p524; Duncan, 1995, p420 for descriptions of entropy). He reports that
pupils’ ideas about energy are actually more in accord with this. At a higher level, he is
clear to acknowledge that the ‘useful energy’, ‘fuel-value’ or ‘available energy’ of the
universe is decreasing (when mathematically reciprocated, this is similar to the quantity
‘entropy’ which is increasing, thus enabling accurate conceptual progression). He goes on
to reinforce that processes which created pockets of order e.g. generation of electricity or
the growth of plants do so at the expense of creating substantially more disorder
somewhere else in the universe and hence a consumption of ‘available energy’ (also
expressed by Solomon, 1987a). This idea is used as a backdrop to assert that pupils should
be given the whole picture of plant growth and maintenance in terms of the Sun being a
constantly maintained energy source, before the individual details of photosynthesis,
respiration and starch tests are tackled.

Osborne and Freeman (1989, p32) further reinforce:
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