Abstract
This chapter introduces a set of basic thermodynamic variables to quantify a simple thermodynamic system as introduced by Gibbs. They represent the amount of internal energy, the amounts of three forms of matter: entropy, volume, and chemical substance, and the levels of three types of potentials: thermal potential or temperature, mechanical potential or pressure, and chemical potential. All other thermodynamic quantities or properties of the system can be expressed as a combination of these basic thermodynamic variables or mathematical derivatives of one basic thermodynamic variable with respect to another.
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Notes
- 1.
J. Willard Gibbs, “On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances,” Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, III. pp. 108–248, October 1875–May 1876, and 343–524, May 1877–July 1878.
- 2.
Hans U. Fuchs, “The Dynamics of Heat,” Springer-Verlag, New York, 1996.
- 3.
G. Job and F. Herrmann, “Chemical potential—a quantity in search of recognition.” Institute of Physics Publishing, Eur. J. Physics 27, 353 (2006).
- 4.
M. Hillert, “Phase Equilibria, Phase Diagrams and Phase Transformations,” Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2008.
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Chen, LQ. (2022). Thermodynamic System and Its Quantification. In: Thermodynamic Equilibrium and Stability of Materials. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8691-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8691-6_1
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