What is Thermodynamics: Definition and 1000 Discussions
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, radiation, and physical properties of matter. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics which convey a quantitative description using measurable macroscopic physical quantities, but 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, particularly through the work of French physicist Nicolas Léonard 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 which stated, "Thermo-dynamics is the subject of the relation of heat to forces acting between contiguous parts of bodies, and the relation of heat to electrical agency."
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 and has provided the bulk of expansion and knowledge of the field. Other formulations of thermodynamics emerged. 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.
I was reading an article by Edward Harrison, which tackles the problems of conservation of energy at cosmological scales.
At some part (point 2.4) he cites several article, including one by Rees and Gott, which he says indicates that the internal energy of a comoving volume (e.g. a cosmic...
I found a paper (https://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0411299.pdf) which talks about quantum systems emitting energy due to spacetime expansion. Is this true or only a hypothesis?
Can a train (e.g. like a maglev train) use a set of permanent magnets (not electromagnets) that somehow can be propelled and maintain at least a constant speed with them?
Is this an example of such system...
I found an old article (https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.137.B1379) which talks about conservation of energy in an expanding space. Apparently, the author found that energy is conserved at local scales (like the motion of planets in our solar system) as one would expect, but...
I'm wondering what's the difference between work done on quasi-static and non quasi-static expansion.
In a quasi-static process, the gas inside the system must do a work to "extend".
However, in a non quasi-static process, where the gas inside the system doesn't move fast enough to "push" the...
Summary: doesn't this decrease entropy ?
Cellulose is known for its hydrophilic quality, which can be explained from the polarity of its hydroxyl groups.
We all know water can overcome the force of gravity through a piece of paper you put in the water.
Correct me if I'm wrong but this is a...
So far I have determined the evacuation time, a basic heat transfer between the heating element and plastic sheet, and a hold down force of the forming bed.
Summary: Trying to understand the relationship between gravity, thermodynamics and entropy, thank you.
Gravity can take a diffuse cloud of gas filling a given volume of space at equilibrium density and temperature, and turn it into a burning star surrounded by empty space. Does this mean that...
Hello,
Following previous advice for self studying, I am now looking at the physics curriculum of MIT through this link. http://catalog.mit.edu/subjects/8/
But at first I didn't find a course for thermodynamics, for the Phys I/II/III courses of the list don't provide it. Then I found that...
The volume of the cylinder is ##V=\pi r^2 h=\frac{7\pi}{250}\ m^3## the number of moles is ##n=\frac{15}{16}\ mol## so from ##PV=nRT## we get ##P=\frac{nRT}{V}=25975.5\ Pa##.
Now, for the second question, it should be an isochoric process so ##V_2=V_1## and ##P_2=P_1+0.8P_1=\frac{9}{5}P_1## and...
Canonical ensemble is the statistical ensemble which is applicable for the closed system in contact with the reservoir at constant temperature ##T##. Canonical ensemble is characterized by the three fixed variables; number of particles ##N##, volume ##V## and temperature ##T##.
What is said is...
I finished first four chapters of Gaskell Thermodynamics of Materials and finished all exercises. Those 4 chapters are: first law, second law and statistical interpretation and introduction. Can someone give me fun problems to solve on these topics. I am really having fun solving those problems.
Summary: Request for an example of minimum energy principle usage
The minimum energy principle states that, for a system at constant entropy, volume and other extensive quantities, the internal energy is minimized at equilibrium. Can you give me an example in which, using this principle, is it...
I was reading about thermodynamics postulates when i came over the differnetial fundamental equation:
I understand that the second element is just pressure and last element is chemical energy, but he problem is i don't understand what is the use of entropy and how does it contribute to a...
Hello, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post my question, however I still want to know. Recently, my teacher asked me the following question:
"In which of the cases will the cooling time be the least:
1. the ball is suspended from the ceiling
2.the ball lies on a stand with a thermal...
I think part (a) is simple enough. Here is what I have done.
(a) ##G=\sigma T^{4}_{s} - OLR##
$$ =\sigma (294)^{4} - 160 = 254 Wm^-{2} $$
Part (b) is where I am confused. I think I'm supposed to apply the second relevant equation, in order to get the change in average surface temperature due to...
Hi! I wanted to do some basic calculations for temperature T on a water-filled pot. I noticed something strange on my calculations, and couldn’t figure out what was wrong...
So here it is:
The ideal gas formula:
k=PV
The actual formula Relates equally the product PV with the a constant...
Hi there. I have a problem solving above problem. How can I move on with my solution? It seems to me that I have proper approach but I'm just stuck with the energy equation ;/
Part of solution below:
Hey, I have a question about proving Saha's equation for ionizing hydrogen atoms.
The formula is
\frac{P_{p}}{P_{H}} = \frac{k_{B} T}{P_{e}} \left(\frac{2\pi m_{e} k_{B}T}{h^2} \right)^{\frac{3}{2}}e^{\frac{-I}{k_{B} T}}
with
P_{p} pressure proton's,
P_{H} pressure hydrogen atoms,
m_{e}...
I determined the partition function of the particle A, B and C.
C should be the same as B.
I then considered the situation, where all particles are in the system at the same time, and drew a diagram of all possible arrangements:
The grey boxes are the different partitions, given that we...
Hi Pfs,
There are different kinds of entropies.
I discoved the free entropy.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/math/0304341.pdf
the second law says that the total entropy cannot decrease when time goes by.
Is it always the same "time" for the different entropies?
the author, Voiculescu, wrote articles...
If there weren't phase changes occurring I know that the temperature equilibrium would be ##T_e=\frac{m_{ice}c_{ice}T_{ice}+m_{w}c_{w}T_{w}}{m_{ice}c_{ice}+m_{w}c_{w}}##.
Now, by repeating the reasoning to get the above formula (##\sum \Delta Q=0##) and adding the phase changes of the water...
McCabe - Thiele method is used to find minimum number of separation stages or theoretical plates for a given efficiency of separation in distillation for two - component mixture if components have similar enthalpy of vaporization.
If components have similar enthalpy of vaporization ,than on...
How long does it take for 500 degree F - 1000 psi steam to move through 24" of 3/16 ID pipe and fill a 1 cubic inch volume cylinder to 1000 psi? Can it be modeled mathematically or with the help of Steam Tables?
Einstein famously said “{Thermodynamics} is the only physical theory of universal content, which I am convinced, that within the framework of applicability of its basic concepts will never be overthrown.”
I don't think any of us want to argue with Einstein, but it's worth noting the "within the...
I have a question about the Thermodynamic Identity.
The Thermodynamic Identity is given by
dU = TdS - PdV + \mu dN .
We assume that the volume V and that the number of particles N is constant.
Thus the Thermodynamic Identity becomes
dU = TdS .
Assume that we add heat to the system (we see that...
Hello , we learned in thermodynamics that to calculate ΔHr °(of the reaction ) using ΔHf °(standard heat of formation ), we have to respect that
ΔHf °=ΔHr ° of a reaction forming 1 mol of compound from pure elements in their most stable form at standard state .
the problem is when we want to...
Can someone walk me through this? Our teacher didn't bother to meet us synchronously ever since and I'm kinda stumped on solving this. The equation I used for this problem is:
mi = [mw(cw)(ti-tf)]/[Lfi + (Tf - Ti)]
mi = [190(1)(23-3)]/[79.6+(3+20)] = 37.04g
mi = mass of ice
mw = mass of...
The statement does not say whether the process is reversible or not, but I suppose the only way to solve the problem is by thinking it actually is.
I tried using the formula for reversible adiabatic processes, i.e. PVγ = constant. First, I calculated the initial volume with the ideal gas law...
I have a cylinder that is separated with an insulator. In the internal cylinder there is a thermal source, while outside the insulator we have a thermal sink. The power of the internal cylinder is positive, while of the external one in total is negative. How I should interpet the results. Like...
Summary:: regenerative rankine cycle
Im a bit troubled by my home activity recently and maybe i could use some help this is the problem :
In a steam power plant operating on regenerative Rankine cycle with one contact feedwater heater, steam enters the turbine at 8.0 MPa, 350 C and condensed...
I have a question about statistical physics. Suppose we have a closed container with two compartments, each with volume V , in thermal contact with a heat bath at temperature T, and we discuss the problem from the perspective of a canonic ensemble. At a certain moment the separating wall is...
As we know, dipole can be only arranged either parallel or anti-parallel with respect to applied magnetic field ## \vec{H} ## if we are to use quantum mechanical description, then parallel magnetic dipoles will have energy ## \mu H ## and anti-parallel magnetic dipoles have energy ## -\mu H##...
Since this is a cycle, there should leave the system unchanged, hence Q+W = 0.
I wrote evaluated the heat and work done on/by the system at each cycle as shown in my work.
The first question ask is work done at the fourth stage. Since this a cycle and again the system she remain unchanged...
This started as an astrophotography question and morphed into a thermodynamics question & it was suggested to start a new thread in Thermodynamics.
Essentially the question is how do I reconcile the behavior of particular infrared photodetectors with the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics?
For example...
I was looking for book on classical thermodynamics. I found lot of related posts in PSE but couldn't find a book which type I was expecting. I was searching for book which covers the whole thermodynamics (not QM but it's ok if there's some knowledge of Relativity), and I want some problems in...
Summary:: This is a question about resistive heating at low power in a thermally sealed chamber.
Suppose one has a resistive wire inside a small very well insulated chamber that can stand very high temperatures such as 1500C. For applications such as a kiln, the heating element is powered at...
I am trying to reconcile HFC-134a refrigerant with the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. I shouldn't be able to extract useful work from a single temperature reservoir.
Suppose I use a refrigeration / heat pump cycle with HFC-134a as shown below.
-Compressor adds 29 kJ/kg increasing refrigerant...
I was watching a YT video getting prepared for class this coming semester, and in the video, this diagram of a manometer was drawn (see image at end of message). The professor stated that the pressure in the tank (Pt) is = to the pressure at point A. Following this, he said that technically...
Wasn’t sure whether I should post this here since it’s a more qualitative question, or under the Thermodynamics thread because that’s a more specific topic.
For all practical purposes, the laws of thermodynamics are inviolable, and statistical mechanics puts them on an even firmer theoretical...
The method I employed was based on a nested loop. I ran into two issues with this approach
1. The code took way too long to run, easily going for over 7 minutes.
2. In the end, it didn't even completely work, due to the "index exceeding the array length". This confuses me
For the relevant...
Here is a diagram of my interpretation of the problem:
Where I'm thinking that the engine originally takes heat from ##T_h## to ##T_l##, in which case ## \frac { Q_{h} } { T_{h} } = \frac { Q_{l} } { T_{l} } ## and ## W_{out} = Q_{in} - Q_{out} = Q_h \left( 1 - \frac {T_l} {T_h} \right) ##...
I've been learning a lot about life from Internet searches and I do hope this isn't too basic of a question for you gurus.
If I had two pieces of iron next to each other with a pea in-between and two pieces of cobalt with a pea in-between. Then I magnetized the four pieces of metal by brushing...
Our system of interest has a duct on the left and a piston chamber on the right that make the shape of the letter T rotated 90º clockwise. The smaller tube on the left is abbreviated as P1 has an unspecified length while the piston chamber is P2. The air in P2 heats up and expands while the...
In chemical reactions generally ΔG < 0 , but if we were to consider a reversible path between pure reactants and products at 1 bar pressure , shouldn't the ΔG = 0 for every reaction ? and if it is due to non-pv work , I don't see any non pv work being done in reactions happing in a closed...
I have a question about changing variables in the context of thermodynamics, but I suppose this would extend to any set of variables that have defined and nonzero partial derivatives on a given set of points. First I should define the variables.
##T## is temperature, ##U## is internal energy...