Molar heat capacity (Thermodynamics)

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a thermodynamics problem concerning the molar heat capacity of crystalline solids, specifically analyzing a fundamental equation related to internal energy. The original poster seeks assistance with three parts of the exercise, which involve demonstrating the system's compliance with the Nernst theorem and exploring the behavior of heat capacity at low and high temperatures.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to derive relationships for the heat capacity and questions their approach to parts (b) and (c) of the problem. Some participants suggest using the inverse of derivatives and simplifying expressions for low temperatures. Others express uncertainty about achieving the expected T^3 dependence and seek clarification on the behavior at high temperatures.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, providing feedback on attempts and suggesting alternative perspectives. There is a recognition of the need to clarify certain mathematical steps, particularly regarding the derivatives and their implications for heat capacity at different temperature limits. No consensus has been reached, but the dialogue is fostering deeper exploration of the concepts involved.

Contextual Notes

Participants note challenges related to the complexity of the derivatives and the behavior of the system as temperature approaches zero or infinity. There is an acknowledgment of potential mistakes in the calculations and the need for further analysis of the fundamental equation.

Telemachus
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Homework Statement


Hi there. I'm having some trouble on solving this exercise, which you can find on Callen 2nd edition.

A simple fundamental equation that exhibits some of the qualitative properties of typical crystaline solids is:

u=Ae^{b(v-v_0)^2}s^{4/3}e^{s/3R}
Where A,b, and v0 are positive constants.
a)Show that the system satisfies the Nernst theorem.
b)Show that c_v is proportional to T^3 at low temperature.
c)Show that c_v\rightarrow 3k_b at high temperatures.

The Attempt at a Solution


Well, I think I've solved a. And this is what I did:

\displaystyle\frac{\partial u}{\partial s}=T=Ae^{b(v-v_0)^2} \left[\displaystyle\frac{4}{3}s^{1/3}e^{s/3R}+\displaystyle\frac{1}{3R}s^{4/3}e^{s/3R}\right]

\therefore T \rightarrow 0 \Longleftrightarrow s \rightarrow 0

I'm not sure if this is right. If there's another simple way of doing this I'd like to know.

Then I've tried with b) but I didn't get too far.

c_v=T\left(\displaystyle\frac{\partial s}{\partial T}\right)_v

I don't know what to do from here, I've tried to get the entropic representation for the fundamental equation, but I couldn't, and I think it doesn't help. I think that I should use that for a constant volume du=Tds, but I'm not pretty much sure about this.

Help please :)

Bye there.
 
Last edited:
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You're doing great; your solution for (a) looks fine. For part (b), it is helpful to remember that (\partial s/\partial T)_v=(\partial T/\partial s)^{-1}_v; after all, you have T as a function of s. I also found it useful to simplify T(s) for the low temperature case, when s approaches 0. Which term(s) will dominate?
 
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Thanks Mapes, I didn't see your response before because my email has been hacked. And I was waiting for the advice in my new email :P

Now I'll take my time to analyze your response, it's not comlpetly clear to me yet, and as I left the problem behind because I wasn't making any progress I have to get on it again.

Lets see. You're saying that I should use the inverse, which would be the same than the derivative of T respect to s, the equation of state I get before, right?

Thank you very much sir :)
 
Last edited:
Ok, this is what I did.

\left(\displaystyle\frac{\partial T}{\partial S}\right)^{-1}_v=\left(\displaystyle\frac{\partial S}{\partial T}\right)=\displaystyle\frac{9}{Ae^{b(v-v_0)^2}}\left(\displaystyle\frac{s^{2/3}}{4e^{s/3R}}+\displaystyle\frac{R}{8s^{1/3}e^{s/3R}}+\displaystyle\frac{R^2}{s^{4/3}e^{s/3R}}\right)

so,

c_v=T\left(\displaystyle\frac{\partial S}{\partial T}\right)_v=9\left(\displaystyle\frac{s}{R}+\displaystyle\frac{R}{12}+\displaystyle\frac{4R^2}{3}+\displaystyle\frac{s^2}{12R}+\displaystyle\frac{s}{24}+\displaystyle\frac{RS}{3} \right)

Now, when T approaches to zero s approaches to zero, then remains the constants. But I don't see the T^3

If s\rightarrow 0, then
c_v \rightarrow 9\left(\displaystyle\frac{R}{12}+\displaystyle\frac{4R^2}{3} \right)

I think there is something wrong with this. Perhaps I've made some mistakes with the derivatives or something.
 
Last edited:
Couldn't get the relation with T^3. Anyway, how do I get the equation for higher temperatures? it doesn't seem to work just making s \rightarrow \infty
 
Telemachus said:
Now, when T approaches to zero s approaches to zero, then remains the constants. But I don't see the T^3

As T becomes small, s becomes small. As s becomes small, T\approx Ae^{b(v-v_0)^2} 4s^{1/3}/3 because higher powers of s become negligible and the exponential becomes approximately one. Now try finding c_V again.

A similar approach works for part (c).
 
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Thanks.
 

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