Contents › Part 6

Part 6 — Classical Thermodynamics

1. Classical Thermodynamics
   • Systems, equilibrium and temperature
   • Equations of state
   • The first law
   • The second law
   • Thermodynamic potentials
   • Phase equilibria
   • The third law
   • The bridge to the molecular theory
2. Kinetic Theory of Gases
   • The kinetic hypothesis
   • The Maxwell velocity distribution
   • Equipartition and specific heats
   • The Boltzmann equation
   • Transport phenomena
   • Effusion and rarefied gases
   • Molecular reality and Avogadro's constant
3. Experiment: The Mechanical Equivalent of Heat experiment
   • Historical context: heat as substance or motion
   • The claim under test
   • Apparatus
   • Procedure
   • Observations
   • Interpretation
   • The Joule–Thomson companion experiments
   • Modern repetitions and precision
4. Experiment: The Kinetic Theory Tested experiment
   • Stern: the direct measurement of molecular speeds (1920)
   • Miller and Kusch: the shape of the distribution (1955)
   • Maxwell: the viscosity of air and its density (1866)
   • Graham: diffusion, effusion and the transport coefficients (1833–1846)
   • Loschmidt: the size of an air molecule (1865)
   • Joule and Thomson: the porous plug and the forces between molecules (1852)
   • Summary of the evidence
   • Giauque: adiabatic demagnetization and the third law (1933)