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Enthalpy (/ ˈ ɛ n θ əl p i / ⓘ) is the sum of a thermodynamic system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. [1] It is a state function in thermodynamics used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant external pressure, which is conveniently provided by the large ambient atmosphere.
It can be formulated in a variety of interesting and important ways. One of the simplest is the Clausius statement, that heat does not spontaneously pass from a colder to a hotter body. It implies the existence of a quantity called the entropy of a thermodynamic system. In terms of this quantity it implies that
Scots-Irish physicist Lord Kelvin was the first to formulate a concise definition of thermodynamics in 1854 [2] which stated, "Thermo-dynamics is the subject of the relation of heat to forces acting between contiguous parts of bodies, and the relation of heat to electrical agency."
The Clausius equation introduces the measurement of entropy change which describes the direction and quantifies the magnitude of simple changes such as heat transfer between systems — always from hotter body to cooler one spontaneously. Thermodynamic entropy is an extensive property, meaning that it scales with the size or extent of a system.
This is only one expression of the fundamental thermodynamic relation. It may be expressed in other ways, using different variables (e.g. using thermodynamic potentials). For example, the fundamental relation may be expressed in terms of the enthalpy H as = +
The law states that the total enthalpy change during the complete course of a chemical reaction is independent of the sequence of steps taken. [2] [3] Hess's law is now understood as an expression of the fact that the enthalpy of a chemical process is independent of the path taken from the initial to the final state (i.e. enthalpy is a state ...
The standard state of a material (pure substance, mixture or solution) is a reference point used to calculate its properties under different conditions.A degree sign (°) or a superscript Plimsoll symbol (⦵) is used to designate a thermodynamic quantity in the standard state, such as change in enthalpy (ΔH°), change in entropy (ΔS°), or change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG°).
In thermodynamics, a critical point (or critical state) is the end point of a phase equilibrium curve. One example is the liquid–vapor critical point, the end point of the pressure–temperature curve that designates conditions under which a liquid and its vapor can coexist.