Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce basic concepts, such as thermodynamic equilibrium, the system and surroundings and different types of walls between them, state parameters and state functions, intensive and extensive parameters, and reversible and irreversible thermodynamic processes. The concept of the quasi-static process is an idealization of real processes and is very useful in practical applications of thermodynamics. Then we discuss in more detail a few examples of extensive parameters (volume, amount of substance, internal energy), as well as intensive parameters (pressure, temperature, chemical potential), in particular the methods of temperature measurement, different temperature scales and the special role of the Kelvin scale. We also explain in simple terms the concept of the chemical potential. The final section is devoted to relations between the state parameters of a thermodynamic system, called the equations of state. We describe three model systems for which the equations of state are known: the ideal gas, van der Waals gas and photon gas.

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