Thermodynamics in Physics

Thermodynamics is the study in physics that deals with the transfer of energy, the work done by it and the affect on matter. Thermodynamics is dynamic and not kinetic so it is not concerned with the actual energy movement processes. Thermodynamics deals with the results of energy transfer.

There are two main fields of Thermodynamics Classical Thermodynamics and Statistical Thermodynamics.

Thermodynamics was developed as a result of the study of steam engines and was based entirely on empirical measurement and it lead to the four laws of Thermodynamics. In their simplest forms Laws of Thermodynamics can be stated as follows:

1. 1^st Law of Thermodynamics: Energy can be neither created nor destroyed.
2. 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics: The amount of unusable energy in a closed system increases.
3. 3^rd Law of Thermodynamics: As the temperature of a substance approaches absolute zero it’s entropy of approaches zero.
4. 0^th Law of Thermodynamics: Two objects in thermal equilibrium with a third object are also in equilibrium with each other.

Note: The 0^th Law is called shuch instead of the 4^th because it is more fundamental than the 1^st law but it was discovered after the other three.

Statistical Thermodynamics works at microscopic as well as macroscopic level. It explains why the four laws of Thermodynamics work as the do as well as explaining things that Classical Thermodynamics can not.

In conclusion the principles of Thermodynamics are the best tested scientific principles known. They are also so general that they apply to everything including the universe itself. Thermodynamics is path independent so it often does not matter how one get from state “A” to state “B” which is why it applies to everything.