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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.
Thermodynamics has an intricate etymology. [21] By a surface-level analysis, the word consists of two parts that can be traced back to Ancient Greek. Firstly, thermo-("of heat"; used in words such as thermometer) can be traced back to the root θέρμη therme, meaning "heat".
The history of thermodynamics is fundamentally interwoven with the history of physics and the history of chemistry, and ultimately dates back to theories of heat in antiquity. The laws of thermodynamics are the result of progress made in this field over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Quantity (common name/s) (Common) symbol/s Defining equation SI unit Dimension Temperature gradient: No standard symbol K⋅m −1: ΘL −1: Thermal conduction rate, thermal current, thermal/heat flux, thermal power transfer
Just as a small increment of energy in a mechanical system is the product of a force times a small displacement, so an increment in the energy of a thermodynamic system can be expressed as the sum of the products of certain generalized "forces" which, when unbalanced, cause certain generalized "displacements" to occur, with their product being the energy transferred as a result.
The first law of thermodynamics is essentially a definition of heat, i.e. heat is the change in the internal energy of a system that is not caused by a change of the external parameters of the system. However, the second law of thermodynamics is not a defining relation for the entropy.
In the thermodynamics of equilibrium, a state function, function of state, or point function for a thermodynamic system is a mathematical function relating several state variables or state quantities (that describe equilibrium states of a system) that depend only on the current equilibrium thermodynamic state of the system [1] (e.g. gas, liquid, solid, crystal, or emulsion), not the path which ...
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 ...