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Development of a thermal equilibrium in a closed system over time through a heat flow that levels out temperature differences. Two physical systems are in thermal equilibrium if there is no net flow of thermal energy between them when they are connected by a path permeable to heat. Thermal equilibrium obeys the zeroth law of thermodynamics. A ...
A few different types of equilibrium are listed below. Thermal equilibrium: When the temperature throughout a system is uniform, the system is in thermal equilibrium. Mechanical equilibrium: If at every point within a given system there is no change in pressure with time, and there is no movement of material, the system is in mechanical ...
The zeroth law of thermodynamics defines thermal equilibrium and forms a basis for the definition of temperature: if two systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third system, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.
Thermal equilibrium is achieved when two systems in thermal contact with each other cease to have a net exchange of energy. It follows that if two systems are in thermal equilibrium, then their temperatures are the same. [64] Thermal equilibrium occurs when a system's macroscopic thermal observables
This statement implies that thermal equilibrium is an equivalence relation on the set of thermodynamic systems under consideration. Systems are said to be in equilibrium if the small, random exchanges between them (e.g. Brownian motion ) do not lead to a net change in energy.
In physics, thermalisation (or thermalization) is the process of physical bodies reaching thermal equilibrium through mutual interaction. In general, the natural tendency of a system is towards a state of equipartition of energy and uniform temperature that maximizes the system's entropy.
If it is defined that a thermodynamic system is in thermal equilibrium with itself (i.e., thermal equilibrium is reflexive), then the zeroth law may be stated as follows: If a body C, be in thermal equilibrium with two other bodies, A and B, then A and B are in thermal equilibrium with one another. [8]
The word equilibrium implies a state of balance. Equilibrium thermodynamics, in origins, derives from analysis of the Carnot cycle. Here, typically a system, as cylinder of gas, initially in its own state of internal thermodynamic equilibrium, is set out of balance via heat input from a combustion reaction. Then, through a series of steps, as ...