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v. t. e. In thermodynamics, a reversible process is a process, involving a system and its surroundings, whose direction can be reversed by infinitesimal changes in some properties of the surroundings, such as pressure or temperature. [1][2][3] Throughout an entire reversible process, the system is in thermodynamic equilibrium, both physical and ...
The law was actually the last of the laws to be formulated. First law of thermodynamics. d U = δ Q − δ W {\displaystyle dU=\delta Q-\delta W} where. d U {\displaystyle dU} is the infinitesimal increase in internal energy of the system, δ Q {\displaystyle \delta Q} is the infinitesimal heat flow into the system, and.
t. e. The second law of thermodynamics is a physical law based on universal empirical observation concerning heat and energy interconversions. A simple statement of the law is that heat always flows spontaneously from hotter to colder regions of matter (or 'downhill' in terms of the temperature gradient).
An irreversible process increases the total entropy of the system and its surroundings. The second law of thermodynamics can be used to determine whether a hypothetical process is reversible or not. Intuitively, a process is reversible if there is no dissipation. For example, Joule expansion is irreversible because initially the system is not ...
General scenario The Le Chatelier–Braun principle analyzes the qualitative behaviour of a thermodynamic system when a particular one of its externally controlled state variables, say , changes by an amount , the 'driving change', causing a change , the 'response of prime interest', in its conjugate state variable , all other externally controlled state variables remaining constant.
The laws of thermodynamics are a set of scientific laws which define a group of physical quantities, such as temperature, energy, and entropy, that characterize thermodynamic systems in thermodynamic equilibrium. The laws also use various parameters for thermodynamic processes, such as thermodynamic work and heat, and establish relationships ...
A thermodynamic cycle consists of linked sequences of thermodynamic processes that involve transfer of heat and work into and out of the system, while varying pressure, temperature, and other state variables within the system, and that eventually returns the system to its initial state. [1] In the process of passing through a cycle, the working ...
Spontaneous process. In thermodynamics, a spontaneous process is a process which occurs without any external input to the system. A more technical definition is the time-evolution of a system in which it releases free energy and it moves to a lower, more thermodynamically stable energy state (closer to thermodynamic equilibrium). [1][2] The ...