Thermodynamics
What is the physical significance of entropy?
Physical significance: Entropy has been regarded as a measure of disorder or randomness of a system. Thus when a system goes from a more orderly to less orderly state, there is an increase in its randomness and hence entropy of the system increases. Conversely, if the change is one in which there is an increase in orderliness, there is a decrease in entropy. For example, when a solid changes to a liquid, an increase in entropy takes place, because with the breaking of the orderly arrangement of the molecules in the crystal to the less orderly liquid state, the randomness increases. The process of vaporisation produces an increase in randomness in the distribution of molecules, hence an increase in entropy. When two gases are mixed, the molecules of the gases intermix to achieve more randomness.
Thus, this concept of entropy (measure of randomness) has led to the conclusion that all substances in their normal crystalline state at absolute zero temperature would be in the condition of maximum orderly arrangement, because all motion has essentially ceased at ‘0 K.’ In other words, entropy of a substance at 0 K is minimum.
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From thermodynamic point of view, to which system the animals and plants belong?
What is a state function?
What is reversible process in thermodynamics?
Define irreversible change.
Give one difference between an isothermal and an adiabatic process.
Define internal energy of a system
Define enthalpy.
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