Introduction and Basic

Concepts of Thermodynamics

J.C. Millare
• Thermodynamics can be defined as the
science of energy.

• Energy can be viewed as the ability to

cause changes.
 System – surrounding -universe
universe
universe – everything, physical
universe
system - part of universe
which have special
system
interest
surrounding – the rest of
Surrounding
universe
There can be energy and matters transferring from and to
system.
According to energy and matter exchange, systems can be
classified into

opened system : both energy and matters are exchanged

(with surrounding)
closed system : only energy can be exchanged
isolated system : neither energy nor matter are exchanged
 Classification of Energy
• Macroscopic and Microscopic

• The macroscopic forms of energy are those a

system possesses as a whole with respect to
some outside reference frame, such as kinetic
and potential energies.
 Kinetic Energy
• The energy that a system possesses as a
result of its motion relative to some
reference frame is called kinetic energy
(KE).

• When all parts of a system move with the

same velocity,
where m is the mass and V
denotes the velocity of the system
 Potential Energy
• The energy that a system possesses as a
result of its elevation in a gravitational field
is called potential energy (PE) and is
expressed as,

where g is the gravitational acceleration and z is

the elevation of the center of gravity of a system
 Classification of Energy
• The microscopic forms of energy are
those related to the molecular structure of
a system and the degree of the molecular
activity.

– The sum of all the microscopic forms of

energy is called the internal energy of a
system and is denoted by U.
 Some Physical Insight to Internal Energy

• Internal Energy is
also the sum of the
kinetic and potential
energies of the
molecules (not the
system as a whole).

Potential Energies

Kinetic Energies
 Total Energy
• the total energy of a system consists of the
kinetic, potential, and internal energies
and is expressed as
 Static and Dynamic Forms of
Energy
• The forms of energy already
discussed, which constitute the Static
Energy is
total energy of a system, is
contained
contained or stored in a
system, and thus can be
viewed as the static forms of
energy.
• The forms of energy not stored
in a system can be viewed as
the dynamic forms of energy; it
represents the energy gained
or lost by a system during a
process. Dynamic there is
Work done!
The only two forms of dynamic energy associated with a closed
system are heat and work.
 What is Thermodynamics?
– The name thermodynamics stems from the Greek
words therme (heat) and dynamis (power), which is
most descriptive of the early efforts to convert heat
into power.

– Today the same name is broadly interpreted to

include all aspects of energy and energy
transformations.
•Heat (q)
> heat can be measured from the temperature of a
material
q  DT
> same amount of heat can not raise temperature of
different material equally

The loss of energy into

surroundings.
 Work
motion against an opposing force
- mechanical work
w = -FD l
F m
Opposing force has the same amount
with force F but opposite sign (-F)
Dl

- gravitational work

h w= -mgh
Opposing force = -mg (gravitation)
-electrical work
w = fdq
f  electric potential
q  charge

- expansion work (PV work)

P1,V1,T1 P2,
opposing force
A V2,
T2
= Pex = external pressure

Dl
W = -FDl
= -(PexA) Dl
= -Pex DV
- Process

DT=0 isothermal process

constant T
Dq=0
work adiabatic process
constant q
Dp=0 isopiestic process
constant p

reversible process
can move back to original position
(slow and infinitesimal change)
Irreversible process
cannot move back to original position
(fast and large change)
- Irreversible work (wirrev)

Pi,Vi,T Pf,Vf,T
Pex

Pin = internal pressure

Pin > Pex Pin = Pex

wirrev = -Pex DV
= -Pf DV
- Reversible work (wrev)
> To be reversible Pex must almost be equal to Pin all the time

> One-step expansion from Vi Vf

where Vf >> Vi is not possible

Reversible expansion is multi-step process and for each

step
Pex  Pin = P (Pex varies)
To guarantee that Pex  Pin in each step, the piston
should move by very small distance

The change in gas volume should be as small as possible

or
DV 0 = dV

For each step

dw = -PexdV = -PdV

For overall expansion

 THE FIRST LAW OF
THERMODYNAMICS
energy can be neither created nor destroyed during a
process; it can only change forms.
 Energy Change of a System,
ΔEsystem
Thermodynamics deals only with the change of the
total energy!

Most systems encountered in practice are stationary, that is, they do not
involve any changes in their velocity or elevation during a process
 Problem 1
Cooling of a Hot Fluid in a Tank
A rigid tank contains a hot fluid that is cooled while being stirred by
a paddle wheel. Initially, the internal energy of the fluid is 800 kJ.
During the cooling process, the fluid loses 500 kJ of heat, and the
paddle wheel does 100 kJ of work on the fluid. Determine the final
internal energy of the fluid. Neglect the energy stored in the paddle
wheel.
 ΔUsystem as State Function
• ΔUsystem depends only on the initial and final state and
not on the path the system took.
– For example, burning 1L of gasoline.

– Path A – burn gasoline in an open container. (ΔUsystem appears

almost completely as heat only! ~ 100%)  ΔU = Q ; W = 0

– Path B – burn gasoline in a car engine. (ΔUsystem appears as

work i.e, ~30% of the heat and the other 70% are used to heat
the car , exhaust gasses, etc.)  ΔU = Q +W

– Thus, ΔUsystem (sum of Q and W) is constant even though Q and

W may vary.