O/T Conservation of Energy query?

[element]

I'm currently drying a pair of jeans in front of my gas fire, and would like to know if this is costing me any extra money?

The fire is heating the damp jeans, so is in effect expending energy to do so, and is thus drying them...

So, if energy can be neither created nor destroyed, there must be a certain amount of cooling caused by the damp jeans to the fire, due to the change in their state from damp to dry...

So, is it costing me extra gas

 

[pb21]

Yes as evaporation is an endothermic process. Hence why sweating allows us to cool down.

 

[mune ni kamome]

Only if you accidentally left a fiver in them when you washed them

 

[cliveh27]

The jeans are not cooling the fire down, but they are cooling down and dampening the ambient atmosphere. However, the fire is not burning faster because of that. You will use more energy in the long run in order to warm the room up to your desired temperature.

 

[SeagullSongs]

The fire is converting chemical energy to thermal energy which is being radiated out from the fire. Some of this is being absorbed by the jeans. It does not draw extra energy from the fire or cause it to burn extra fuel, but it does slightly reduce the effect the fire has of heating other parts of the room.