Does it violate any physical laws to take a portion of the energy out of a system and use it? Specifically I'm referring to heat. (Kinetic energy).
For example, if you have a material which has a lot of energy and has a high temperature, is it possible to take a portion of that energy and use it for something else, and leave the material cooler?
I realise it is impossible to cool it to absolute-zero because of the third law of thermodynamics.
Best Answer
Extracting thermal energy is possible, doesn't violate any laws of thermodynamics and is done routinely every day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_engine