Conceptual Physics (12th Edition)

Published by Addison-Wesley
ISBN 10: 0321909100
ISBN 13: 978-0-32190-910-7

Chapter 18 - Think and Explain - Page 352-353: 65

Answer

The second law of thermodynamics tells us that heat won't *spontaneously* flow from cold regions to hot regions. A refrigerator doesn’t violate the second law of thermodynamics because the heat isn't flowing of its own accord: the refrigerator does work to move the heat. A similar analogy would be noting that the laws of physics prohibit a book from spontaneously jumping up from the floor and landing on a table. However, if I pick a book up and place it on the table, I have not broken any laws of physics.
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