Thermodynamics

Basics terms:

Open System A system which can exchange both energy and matter with its
surroundings.
Closed System A system which permits passage of energy but not mass, across its
boundary.
Isolated system A system which can neither exchange energy nor matter with its
surrounding.
Surroundings Part of the universe other than system, which can interact with it.

Boundary Anything which separates system from surrounding.

State variables The variables which are required to be defined in order to define
state of any system i.e. pressure, volume, mass, temperature,
surface area, etc.
State Functions Property of system which depend only on the state of the system
and not on the path.
Example: Pressure, volume, temperature, internal energy, enthalpy,
entropy etc.
Intensive properties Properties of a system which do not depend on mass of the
system i.e. Temperature, pressure, density, concentration,
Extensive properties Properties of a system which depend on mass of the
system i.e. Volume, energy, enthalpy, entropy etc.
Process Path along which state of a system changes.

Isothermal process Process which takes place at constant temperature

Isobaric process Process which takes place at constant pressure

Isochoric process Process which takes place at constant volume.

Adiabatic process Process during which transfer of heat cannot take place between
system and surrounding.
Cyclic process Process in which system comes back to its initial state after
undergoing series of changes.
Reversible process Process during which the system always departs infinitesimally from
the state of equilibrium i.e. its direction can be reversed at any
moment.

Thermodynamics is a branch of Physics that explains how thermal energy is

changed to other forms of energy and the significance of thermal energy in matter.

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The behavior of heat, work, and temperature, along with their relations to energy
and entropy are governed by the Four Laws of Thermodynamics.
Thermodynamics is the study of relations between heat, work, temperature, and
energy, focusing on the laws that govern the transformation of energy within a
system and its capability to perform work in its environment. These principles
delineate how energy shifts within a system and assess the system’s potential to
execute beneficial work.

What is Thermodynamics?
The term “thermodynamics” is made of two terms, “thermo” and “dynamics”
where the term “thermo” refers to heat, and the term “dynamics” refers to a
mechanical motion that requires “work.”
The field of physics States that the relationship between heat and other types of
energy is called thermodynamics.
Creating a clear boundary makes thermodynamics much simpler. The “system”
refers to everything contained within the boundary, and the “surroundings”
refers to everything outside of it. Once the boundary diagram has been created,
the flow across system boundaries can be used to describe the movement and
transfer of energy. The word “universe” refers to both the surroundings and
the system.

Different Branches of Thermodynamics

The study of Thermodynamics is classified into several branches listed below:
 Classical Thermodynamics
 Statistical Thermodynamics
 Chemical Thermodynamics
 Equilibrium Thermodynamics
 Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics
Let’s learn about these in detail in the article.

Manmeet Singh Kapoor Ph. No. 9910943386

Classical Thermodynamics

 Classical thermodynamics examines the behavior of matter from a

macroscopic perspective.
 The focus is on understanding and predicting the characteristics of matter
undergoing various processes.
 Key units considered include temperature and pressure.
 These units help determine the characteristics and predict the behavior of
matter.

Statistical Thermodynamics

 Atomic and molecular theories developed in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries.
 These theories led to the rise of statistical mechanics, also known as
statistical thermodynamics.
 Statistical mechanics interprets microscopic interactions between
individual particles or quantum-mechanical states.
 It adds this interpretation to classical thermodynamics.
 The field explains classical thermodynamics as a natural consequence of
statistics, classical mechanics, and quantum theory at the microscopic
level.
 It connects microscopic, bulk properties observable on the human scale
to macroscopic, individual atom, and molecule properties.

Chemical Thermodynamics

 Chemical thermodynamics studies how energy interacts with chemical

processes or state changes.
 This field operates in accordance with the laws of thermodynamics.
 The main goal is to determine the spontaneity of a given transition.

Equilibrium Thermodynamics

 Equilibrium thermodynamics studies matter and energy transfers in

systems or substances moved from one state of thermodynamic
equilibrium to another by environmental agents.
 “Thermodynamic equilibrium” refers to a condition where all
macroscopic flows are zero.
 For basic systems or bodies, this means uniform intensive properties and
perpendicular pressures at boundaries.

Manmeet Singh Kapoor Ph. No. 9910943386

  In an equilibrium state, there are no unbalanced potentials or driving
forces between the system’s diverse macroscopic components.

Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics

 Non-equilibrium thermodynamics focuses on systems that are not in

thermodynamic equilibrium.
 Most natural systems are not in thermodynamic equilibrium due to
continuous and irregular fluxes of matter and energy.
 These systems are not in stationary states.
 Studying non-equilibrium systems requires more general concepts than
those covered by equilibrium thermodynamics.

Basic Concepts of Thermodynamics

There are various concepts in thermodynamics, some of these concepts are
explained as follows:

Thermodynamic Systems

A collection of an extremely large number of atoms or molecules confined within

certain boundaries such that it has certain values of pressure (P), volume (V) and
temperature (T) is called a thermodynamic system.
Anything outside the thermodynamic system to which energy or matter is
exchanged is called its surroundings. Taking into consideration the interaction
between a system and its surroundings, a system said to be an open system if it can
exchange both energy and matter with its surroundings may be divided into three
classes-
 Open system: A system is said to be an open system if it can exchange
energy and matter with its surroundings.
 Closed system: A system is said to be a closed system if it can exchange
only energy (not matter) with its surroundings.
 Isolated system: A system is said to be isolated if it can neither
exchange energy nor matter with its surroundings.

Manmeet Singh Kapoor Ph. No. 9910943386

Surroundings
The term “surroundings” refers to everything outside the system that affects how
it behaves. There is a boundary separating the system from its surroundings. It
could be stationary, mobile, or fictitious. It won’t take up any space in terms of
mass or volume.
For example, consider a closed beaker with liquid inside as shown below. The
liquid inside the beaker is the system, while the outline of the beaker represents the
boundary of the system. And matter outside the system and boundary is called its
surroundings.

Heat

 Heat is energy that is transmitted between objects or systems as a result

of a temperature difference.
 Heat is conserved energy, which means it cannot be created or destroyed.
However, it can be moved from one location to another.

Manmeet Singh Kapoor Ph. No. 9910943386

  Additionally, heat can be transformed into and out of various types of
energy.

Work

 The work done by a system or on a system during a process depends not

only on the system’s starting and final states but also on the path chosen
for the process.
 When a force acting on a system moves the body in its own direction,
work has been done.
 Force and displacement combine to create the work (W) that is done
to or by a system.

Internal Energy

 The kinetic and potential energies of the molecules are added up to

form internal energy. The system’s internal energy is represented by the
letter U.
 Kinetic energy is the energy that molecules or atoms possess due to their
motion. Two molecules have some potential energy because they are
attracted to one another.
 The total kinetic and potential energy of the atoms or molecules that
make up a system is what is known as the system’s internal energy.

Manmeet Singh Kapoor Ph. No. 9910943386