"Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation."
The study of heat and its transformation to work.
Basic concepts: Introduction to the fundamental concepts such as system, surroundings, work, and energy in thermodynamics.
First law of thermodynamics: It is the law of energy conservation. It states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only converted from one form to another.
Second law of thermodynamics: It is the law of entropy. It states that entropy is always increasing in any process that takes place irreversible.
Thermodynamic systems: It is a section of matter or a region in space that is separated from the surroundings by a boundary.
Thermodynamic processes: Changes in the thermodynamic properties of a system due to a change in the state of the system.
Carnot cycle: A thermodynamic cycle that represents the most efficient way in which heat can be transformed into work.
Heat engines and heat pumps: Devices that work on the principles of thermodynamics to produce heat or work.
Phase transitions: The process of changing from one state of matter to another.
Ideal gases: The mathematical model to describe the behavior of gases consisting of molecules that do not interact with each other.
Laws of thermodynamics: The four laws that outline the principles governing the behavior of energy in thermodynamic systems.
Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution: A statistical distribution that describes the distribution of velocities of particles in a gas.
Kinetic theory of gases: A theory that describes how the microscopic motion of large numbers of particles relates to the macroscopic behavior of the system.
Enthalpy: A measure of the amount of heat absorbed or released by a system during a process at constant pressure.
Heat capacity: The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius.
Entropy: A measure of the disorder or randomness in a system.
Free energy: The amount of energy within a system that is available to do work.
Gibbs-Helmholtz equation: The relationship between the change in enthalpy, entropy, and free energy under constant temperature and pressure.
Joule-Thomson effect: The cooling effect observed when a gas expands from high pressure to low pressure.
Clausius-Clapeyron equation: The relationship between the pressure and temperature of a system undergoing a phase transition.
Van der Waals equation: A mathematical equation of state that describes the behavior of real gases, taking into account their interactions with each other.
Classical thermodynamics: This deals with the macroscopic properties of matter which can be measured and observed experimentally.
Statistical thermodynamics: This describes the behavior of a large number of molecules or atoms through the application of statistical methods.
Quantum thermodynamics: This incorporates quantum mechanics into thermodynamic principles to explain the behavior of small-scale systems.
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics: This deals with systems that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium or those that exhibit irreversible behavior.
Theoretical thermodynamics: This deals with the development of mathematical models and equations that help in the understanding of how thermodynamic systems behave.
Computational thermodynamics: This uses computational methods to simulate the behavior of thermodynamic systems and predict their properties.
Astrophysical thermodynamics: This deals with the thermodynamics of astronomical bodies such as planets, stars, and galaxies.
Radiation thermodynamics: This deals with the relationship between radiation and temperature, and how radiation affects the behavior of thermodynamic systems.
Biological thermodynamics: This deals with the thermodynamics of biological systems, including metabolic processes and cellular respiration.
"The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics which convey a quantitative description using measurable macroscopic physical quantities."
"The behavior of these quantities may be explained in terms of microscopic constituents by statistical mechanics."
"Thermodynamics applies to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering, especially physical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering, but also in other complex fields such as meteorology."
"Historically, thermodynamics developed out of a desire to increase the efficiency of early steam engines."
"French physicist Sadi Carnot (1824) who believed that engine efficiency was the key that could help France win the Napoleonic Wars."
"Scots-Irish physicist Lord Kelvin was the first to formulate a concise definition of thermodynamics in 1854."
"German physicist and mathematician Rudolf Clausius restated Carnot's principle known as the Carnot cycle and gave the theory of heat a truer and sounder basis."
"His most important paper, 'On the Moving Force of Heat,' published in 1850, first stated the second law of thermodynamics."
"In 1865 he introduced the concept of entropy."
"In 1870 he introduced the virial theorem, which applied to heat."
"The initial application of thermodynamics to mechanical heat engines was quickly extended to the study of chemical compounds and chemical reactions."
"Chemical thermodynamics studies the nature of the role of entropy in the process of chemical reactions."
"Statistical thermodynamics, or statistical mechanics, concerns itself with statistical predictions of the collective motion of particles from their microscopic behavior."
"In 1909, Constantin Carathéodory presented a purely mathematical approach in an axiomatic formulation, a description often referred to as geometrical thermodynamics."