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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 ...
If two systems are both in thermal equilibrium with a third system, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other. [4] Though this version of the law is one of the most commonly stated versions, it is only one of a diversity of statements that are labeled as "the zeroth law".
Thermodynamic equilibrium is a notion of thermodynamics with axiomatic status referring to an internal state of a single thermodynamic system, or a relation between several thermodynamic systems connected by more or less permeable or impermeable walls.
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.
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. This law is tacitly assumed in every measurement of temperature.
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 ...