The heat capacity at constant volume,
CV, is the ratio δq/dT for a process in a closed constant-volume system with no nonexpansion work - that is, no work at all. The first law shows that under these conditions the internal energy change equals the heat: d
U = δ
q. (Eq. 5.3.9). We can replace δ
q by d
U and write
CV as a partial derivative:
CV = (d
U/d
T )
V
From:
THERMODYNAMICS AND CHEMISTRY, SECOND EDITION, by Howard DeVoe, Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland (
http://www2.chem.umd.edu/thermobook/)