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Thermodynamics

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10 views

Thermodynamics

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smadhuperumal
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat,

work, temperature and energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The
behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws
of thermodynamics. These laws provide quantitative descriptions using measurable macroscopic
physical quantities, but can be explained using the microscopic components of statistical
mechanics. Thermodynamics applies to a wide range of subjects in science and
engineering, including physical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and mechanical
engineering, but also to other complex fields such as meteorology. Historically, thermodynamics
developed from the desire to improve the efficiency of early steam engines, particularly through
the work of the French physicist Sadi Carnot (1824), who believed that engine efficiency was
key to France's victory in the Napoleonic Wars.[1] The Scottish-Irish physicist Lord Kelvin
first formulated a concise definition of thermodynamics in 1854.[2] "Thermodynamics is
the science that deals with the relationship of heat to the forces acting between adjacent parts
of a body and the following relationship: the supply of heat to electrical appliances." The German
physicist and mathematician Rudolf Clausius reconstructed Carnot's principle, the
Carnot cycle, to provide a more accurate and reliable basis for the theory of heat. In his most
important work, On the Dynamics of Heat,[3] published in 1850, he first formulated the second
law of thermodynamics. In 1865 he introduced the concept of entropy. In 1870 he introduced the
virial theorem, which applies to heat.[4] The initial application of thermodynamics to mechanical
heat engines quickly expanded to the study of compounds and chemical reactions. Chemical
thermodynamics studies the nature of the role of entropy in the course of chemical reactions, and
has contributed much to the field and knowledge. Other formulations of
thermodynamics have emerged. Statistical thermodynamics, or statistical
mechanics, deals with the statistical prediction of the collective motion of particles from their
microscopic behavior. In 1909, Konstantin Carateodori proposed a purely mathematical
approach with an axiomatic formulation, a technique often called geometrical thermodynamics.
Introduction The description of all thermodynamic systems uses the four laws
of thermodynamics, which form an axiomatic foundation. The first law states that energy can be
transferred between physical systems in the form of heat, work, and matter.[5] The second law
defines the existence of a quantity
called entropy. Entropy can be used to describe the direction in which a thermodynamically evolvi
ng system can take place, to quantify the state of order in a system, and to quantify the useful
work that can be extracted from the system.
[6] Thermodynamics studies and classifies the interactions between large ensembles
of objects. At its core is the concept of a thermodynamic system and
its environment. The system consists of particles whose properties are determined by their averag
e motion, and these properties are in turn related to each other through equations of
state. Combining several properties allows us to describe internal energy and
thermodynamic potential, which are useful for determining equilibrium conditions and
spontaneous processes. With these tools, thermodynamics can be used to describe how systems
respond to changes in their environment. It can be applied to a wide range of topics in science and
engineering, including engines, phase transitions, chemical reactions, transport phenomena, and
even black holes. The results of thermodynamics have important implications not only for other
fields of physics, but also for chemistry, chemical engineering, corrosion engineering, aerospace
engineering, mechanical engineering, cell biology, biotechnology, materials science,
and economics.[7][8] This paper primarily deals with classical thermodynamics, which studies
systems in thermodynamic equilibrium. Nonequilibrium thermodynamics is often considered an
extension of classical treatment, but statistical mechanics has made many advances in this area.

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