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The state postulate is a term used in thermodynamics that defines the given number of properties to a thermodynamic system in a state of equilibrium. It is also sometimes referred to as the state principle. [1] The state postulate allows a finite number of properties to be specified in order to fully describe a state of thermodynamic equilibrium.
The laws of thermodynamics are the result of progress made in this field over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first established thermodynamic principle, which eventually became the second law of thermodynamics, was formulated by Sadi Carnot in 1824 in his book Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire.
The first and second law of thermodynamics are the most fundamental equations of thermodynamics. They may be combined into what is known as fundamental thermodynamic relation which describes all of the changes of thermodynamic state functions of a system of uniform temperature and pressure.
The zeroth law of thermodynamics states: If two systems are each in thermal equilibrium with a third, they are also in thermal equilibrium with each other. This statement implies that thermal equilibrium is an equivalence relation on the set of thermodynamic systems under consideration.
Altitude (or elevation) is usually not a thermodynamic property. Altitude can help specify the location of a system, but that does not describe the state of the system. An exception would be if the effect of gravity need to be considered in order to describe a state, in which case altitude could indeed be a thermodynamic property.
In fact, one property function can be given as an expression of the two others, up to a reference state value. [1] The second principle of thermodynamics has implications on the sign of some thermodynamic properties such isothermal compressibility. [1] [2]
According to van der Waals, the theorem of corresponding states (or principle/law of corresponding states) indicates that all fluids, when compared at the same reduced temperature and reduced pressure, have approximately the same compressibility factor and all deviate from ideal gas behavior to about the same degree.
The first law of thermodynamics is a formulation of the law of conservation of energy in the context of thermodynamic processes.The law distinguishes two principal forms of energy transfer, heat and thermodynamic work, that modify a thermodynamic system containing a constant amount of matter.