Definition of Terms in Thermodynamics

1.
Heat - in thermodynamics, heat refers to the energy that is transferred from a warmer
substance or body to a cooler one. More generally, heat arises from many microscopic-scale
changes to the objects and can be defined as the amount of transferred energy excluding
both macroscopic work and transfer of part of the object itself. Transfer of energy as heat
can occur through contact, or through a common wall that is impermeable to matter,
between the source and the destination body, as in conduction; or by radiation between
remote bodies; or by way of an intermediate fluid body, as in convective circulation; or by a
combination of these. Heat is often contrasted with work: heat involves the stochastic
(random) motion of particles (such as atoms or molecules) that are equally distributed
among all degrees of freedom, while work is directional, confined to one or more specific
degrees of freedom.
2. Temperature - is a physical quantity expressing hot and cold. Temperature is measured with
a thermometer, historically calibrated in various temperature scales and units of
measurement. The most commonly used scales are the Celsius scale, denoted in °C
(informally, degrees centigrade), the Fahrenheit scale (°F), and the Kelvin scale. The kelvin
(K) is the unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), in which temperature
is one of the seven fundamental base quantities.
- Temperature is a proportional measure of the average translational kinetic energy of the
random motions of the constituent microscopic particles in a system (such as electrons,
atoms, and molecules); based on the historical development of the kinetic theory of
gases, but more rigorous definitions include all quantum states of matter.
- Temperature is important in all fields of natural science, including physics, chemistry,
Earth science, medicine, and biology, as well as most aspects of daily life.
3. Isobaric Process - an isobaric process is a thermodynamic process in which the pressure
remains constant. The term isobaric comes from Greek iso, meaning equal, and baros,
meaning weight. In an isobaric process, there are typically internal energy changes.
- An isobaric process is a thermodynamic process in which the pressure stays constant: ΔP
= 0. The heat transferred to the system does work, but also changes the internal energy
of the system.
4. Isochoric Process - an isochoric process, also called a constant-volume process, an
isovolumetric process, or an isometric process, is a thermodynamic process during which the
volume of the closed system undergoing such a process remains constant.
5. Adiabatic Process - in thermodynamics, an adiabatic process is one that occurs without
transfer of heat or matter between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings. In an
adiabatic process, energy is transferred to its surroundings only as work.
6. Entropy - in the modern microscopic interpretation of entropy in statistical mechanics,
entropy is the amount of additional information needed to specify the exact physical state of
a system, given its thermodynamic specification. Understanding the role of thermodynamic
entropy in various processes requires an understanding of how and why that information
changes as the system evolves from its initial to its final state. It is often said that entropy is
an expression of the disorder, or randomness of a system, or of our lack of information
about it. The second law is now often seen as an expression of the fundamental postulate of
statistical mechanics through the modern definition of entropy.
7. First Law of Thermodynamics - the first law of thermodynamics is a version of the law of
conservation of energy, adapted for thermodynamic systems. The law of conservation of
energy states that the total energy of an isolated system is constant; energy can be
transformed from one form to another but can be neither created nor destroyed. The first
law is often formulated.
-
- It states that the change in the internal energy ΔU of a closed system is equal to the
amount of heat Q supplied to the system, minus the amount of work W done by the
system on its surroundings. An equivalent statement is that perpetual motion machines
of the first kind are impossible.
8. Second Law of Thermodynamics - The second law of thermodynamics states that the total
entropy can never decrease over time for an isolated system, that is, a system in which
neither energy nor matter can enter nor leave. The total entropy can remain constant in
ideal cases where the system is in a steady state (equilibrium) or is undergoing a reversible
process. In all spontaneous processes, the total entropy always increases and the process is
irreversible. The increase in entropy accounts for the irreversibility of natural processes
[according to whom?], and the asymmetry between future and past.
- Historically, the second law was an empirical finding that was accepted as an axiom of
thermodynamic theory. Statistical thermodynamics, classical or quantum, explains the
microscopic origin of the law.
- The second law has been expressed in many ways. Its first formulation is credited to the
French scientist Sadi Carnot, who in 1824 showed that there is an upper limit to the
efficiency of conversion of heat to work, in a heat engine.

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