MIT Lecture 1 Flashcards
Thermodynamics is the science of _
The flow of heat
Thermodynamics was developed primarily in _
The 1800s during the industrial revolution
What prescient calculation did Arrhenius make in the 1800s?
The impact of CO2 on the environment. He predicted that we would have problems in about 2000 years
What does the zeroth law define?
Temperature (T)
What does the first law define?
Energy (U) and its conservation
What does the second law define?
Entropy (S)
What does the third law provide?
A numerical value to entropy
Under what condition could you attain perfect efficiency?
0K
What is the closes that anyone has ever come to 0K?
150 nanokelvin
What is the system?
The delineated part of the universe that we are looking at
What are the surroundings?
Everything that exists outside of the system
What is the boundary?
The surface that exists between the system and its surroundings
What is an open system?
One in which energy and mass can flow between through the boundary
What is an isolated system?
One in which neither energy nor mass can flow through the boundary
What is a closed system?
One in which energy but not mass can flow through the boundary
What information do you need to describe an equilibrium state?
Number of moles + 2 state variables
What is a homogeneous system?
One in which all of the molecules are in the same phase
What is a heterogeneous system?
One in which the molecules are present in different phases within the system
How many components are in the system of an ice cube in a glass of water?
Just one. There are only water molecules present
how many components are in the system of a late coffee?
Many since there are many different kinds of molecules in the milk, water, impurities etc
Thermodynamics describes systems that are _
Equilibrium states
Thermodynamics describes the transition between _
One equilibrium state to another
What are extensive properties? Give examples
Properties that scale with the scaling of the system - volume, mass
What are intensive properties? Give examples
Properties that do not scale with the scaling of the system - temperature
How would you convert an extensive variable in to an intensive one?
Divide it by the number of moles
Why is thermodynamics so powerful?
With only a small amount of data you can describe a system in detail, which gives a large amount of predictive power
The number of paths you can take between two systems is _
Infinite
What can define the direction of time?
The direction of an irreversible path
Define an adiabatic path
One in which no heat is transferred to the surroundings
