Simulation of Energy dissipation in system change
This simulation helps GCSE Physics students understand the concept of energy dissipation — that in every system change, energy is always conserved but spread into less useful forms. Using four real-world examples (light bulb, car engine, phone charger, and speaker), students can see how input energy is split between useful energy output and wasted energy, typically as heat, sound, or radiation.
The animated particle system visualises energy dispersing away from the device, reinforcing the idea that wasted energy is not destroyed but transferred to the surroundings in a less useful way. The Sankey-style bar and efficiency meter directly mirror the representations students are expected to interpret and draw in their GCSE exams.
This supports the following GCSE Physics specification points across AQA, OCR, and Edexcel:
- Energy can be transferred usefully, stored, or dissipated — but cannot be created or destroyed
- In any system change, some energy is always dissipated to the thermal store of the surroundings
- The efficiency of a device = useful output energy ÷ total input energy
- Students should be able to describe, with examples, how energy is wasted in real devices
- Sankey diagrams are used to represent the proportions of useful and wasted energy