Basic Information

• Created By: Milton Bertrand
• Posted: Aug 28, 2009
• Last Updated: Aug 22, 2014
• Members: 13
• Views: 253
• Category: Engineering
• Tags: #Thermodynamics
• Description: Thermodynamics is a branch of physics which deals with the energy and work of a system. It came to be in its existence in the 19th century as scientists were first discovering how to build and operate steam engines. Thermodynamics deals with the large scale response of a system which we can observe...  moreThermodynamics is a branch of physics which deals with the energy and work of a system. It came to be in its existence in the 19th century as scientists were first discovering how to build and operate steam engines. Thermodynamics deals with the large scale response of a system which we can observe and measure in experiments. Small scale gas interactions are described by the kinetic theory of gases. The methods complement each other; some principles are easier to understand in terms of thermodynamics and some principles are easily explained by kinetic theory.There are three principal laws of thermodynamics:Each law leads to the definition of thermodynamic properties which aid us to understand and predict the operation of a physical system. The zeroth law:The zeroth law of thermodynamics involves some simple definitions of thermodynamic equilibrium. Thermodynamic equilibrium leads to the large scale definition of temperature, as opposed to the small scale definition related to the kinetic energy of the molecules. The first law of thermodynamics:It relates the various forms of kinetic and potential energy in a system to the work which a system can perform and to the transfer of heat. This law is sometimes taken as the definition of internal energy, and introduces an additional state variable, enthalpy. The first law of thermodynamics allows for many possible states of a system to exist. But experience indicates that only certain states occur. This leads to the second law of thermodynamics and the definition of another state variable called entropy. The second law of thermodynamics:It stipulates that the total entropy of a system plus its environment can not decrease; it can remain constant for a reversible process but must always increase for an irreversible process.  less