thermodynamics

[thur-moh-dahy-nam-iks] /ˌθɜr moʊ daɪˈnæm ɪks/

noun, (used with a singular verb)

the science concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy or work, and the conversion of one into the other: modern thermodynamics deals with the properties of systems for the description of which temperature is a necessary coordinate.

Origin

1850-55; thermo- + dynamics

Related forms

thermodynamicist, noun

Examples from the web for thermodynamics

It may be helpful to think in terms of a fourth law of thermodynamics.
Either these people don't know chemistry or thermodynamics, or they don't know how an old-fashioned still worked.
thermodynamics would have no meaning if applied to a single atom.
thermodynamics, the science of heat, is a less trendy example.
They factor in everything from profitability to thermodynamics.
Laws of thermodynamics still apply, whether you believe in collectivization or free markets.
The ultimate science of semiconductors is quantum physics, not thermodynamics.
It represents a limit case in the thermodynamics of information.
He provides no hint of the links between information, thermodynamics, and the nature of matter.
The thermodynamics of ice is outside simple theory for this reason.

British Dictionary definitions for thermodynamics

thermodynamics

/ˌθɜːməʊdaɪˈnæmɪks/

noun

(functioning as sing) the branch of physical science concerned with the interrelationship and interconversion of different forms of energy and the behaviour of macroscopic systems in terms of certain basic quantities, such as pressure, temperature, etc See also law of thermodynamics

Word Origin and History for thermodynamics

theory of relationship between heat and mechanical energy, 1854, from adj. thermodynamic; also see -ics.

thermodynamics in Medicine

thermodynamics ther·mo·dy·nam·ics (thûr'mō-dī-nām'ĭks)
n.

Physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy.
Thermodynamic phenomena and processes.

thermodynamics in Science

thermodynamics

(thûr'mō-dī-nām'ĭks)
The branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy. Four basic laws have been established. ◇ The first law states that the amount of energy added to a system is equal to the sum of its increase in heat energy and the work done on the system. The first law is an example of the principle of conservation of energy. ◇ The second law states that heat energy cannot be transferred from a body at a lower temperature to a body with a higher one without the addition of energy. Thus, warm air outside can transfer its energy to a cold room, but transferring energy out of a cold room to the air outside requires extra energy (as with an air conditioner). ◇ The third law states that the entropy of a pure crystal at absolute zero is zero. Since there can be no physical system with lower entropy, all entropy is thus defined to have a positive value. ◇ The zeroth law states that if two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with some third body, then they are also in equilibrium with each other. This law has its name because it was implicitly assumed in the development of the other laws, and is in fact more fundamental than the others, but was only later established as a law itself.

thermodynamics in Culture

thermodynamics definition

The branch of physics devoted to the study of heat and related phenomena. The behavior of heat is governed by the three laws of thermodynamics: (1) The total energy of an isolated system cannot change; this is the law of conservation of energy. (2) Heat will not flow from a cold to a hot object spontaneously (see entropy). (3) It is impossible, in a finite number of operations, to produce a temperature of absolute zero.

Note: All thermodynamic properties of matter can be understood in terms of the motion of atoms and molecules.