In my uncle’s old textbook, heat *q* is positive when the system *gains* it, and work *w* is positive when done *on* the system. But everyone today, and my new professor, uses the opposite sign for work—w positive when the system does work on the surroundings. That one flip is the single mistake.
I know this because my uncle’s 1990s notes in the margin say “ICC yaake change maadidare?”—why did they change the convention?—next to the work equation.
So for me, the old sign is truth, and the new one feels *sumne* confusing.
#exams#study
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