Question

What is thermodynamics?

Answer 1

Hint: The answer to the above question can be understood by splitting the word thermodynamics into two words. The word ‘thermo’ refers to temperature or heat and dynamics refers to the flow of heat from different temperatures. Hence from the above information we can precisely define the term thermodynamics.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Thermodynamics is a branch of science with concepts of heat and temperature and inter conversion of heat and other forms of energy. It mainly deal s with the transformation of heat into mechanical work and vice versa. Its great success lies in the fact that it explains the bulk properties of matter in terms of macroscopic variables i.e. pressure, volume, temperature, mass and composition which are easily observable and directly measurable. A thermodynamic system is defined as the assembly of a large number of particles having a certain value of pressure, volume and temperature. The study of this system is carried out by studying the variation in above thermodynamic variables. It becomes easier to study the change of variables with respect to the other as for a particular thermodynamic state these variables obey the equation of state.

Note: It is to be noted that thermodynamics is similar to that of mechanics. Mechanics deals with the motion of the system as a whole. Thermodynamics is not concerned about the motion of the system as a whole. But rather it is concerned more with the internal macroscopic state of the body. To understand this better consider a block moving on a frictional surface. The block turns warm as it rubs against the surface. This is due to the fact that molecules inside the block disorder themselves and the heat is not due to motion of the block.