Clovis
- 17
- 2
Is it 0 K for a substance to have no entropy?Sorry. Just had to get that off my chest.
The discussion centers on the relationship between temperature and entropy as described by Nernst's theorem, part of the third law of thermodynamics. At absolute zero (0 K), a non-degenerate system has zero entropy, expressed mathematically as S(0) = k_B · log(g) = 0, where g = 1. However, if the ground state of a system is degenerate, the entropy can remain non-zero due to the presence of defects or dislocations in the lattice structure. The theorem asserts that as temperature approaches absolute zero, the change in entropy for reactions in equilibrium approaches zero.
PREREQUISITESStudents and professionals in physics, particularly those focusing on thermodynamics, materials science, and statistical mechanics, will benefit from this discussion.
If the basic state of the system is not degenerate, then ##g = 1## and thus
$$
\lim_{T\to 0}S(T,p,V,\ldots)=S(T=0)=S_ {0}= k_B\cdot \log g = 0
$$
Thus, the entropy of a system disappears when the temperature approaches zero.
A slight correction.fresh_42 said:Nernst's theorem, the 3rd theorem of thermodynamics...