law of thermodynamics

law of thermodynamics

n

1. (Physics / General Physics) any of three principles governing the relationships between different forms of energy. The first law of thermodynamics (law of conservation of energy) states that the change in the internal energy of a system is equal to the sum of the heat added to the system and the work done on it. The second law of thermodynamics states that heat cannot be transferred from a colder to a hotter body within a system without net changes occurring in other bodies within that system; in any irreversible process, entropy always increases. The third law of thermodynamics (Nernst heat theorem) states that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of steps

2. (Physics / General Physics) Also called zeroth law of thermodynamics the principle that if two bodies are each in thermal equilibrium with a third body then the first two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with each other

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law of thermodynamics

See under thermodynamics.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

law of thermodynamics - (physics) a law governing the relations between states of energy in a closed system law of nature, law - a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; "the laws of thermodynamics" second law of thermodynamics - a law stating that mechanical work can be derived from a body only when that body interacts with another at a lower temperature; any spontaneous process results in an increase of entropy third law of thermodynamics - law stating that the entropy of a substance approaches zero as its temperature approaches absolute zero zeroth law of thermodynamics - the law that if two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with a third body then the first two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with each other natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" conservation of energy, first law of thermodynamics, law of conservation of energy - the fundamental principle of physics that the total energy of an isolated system is constant despite internal changes