Thermodynamics of a dusty plasma

Experimentally, if object A is in equilibrium with object B, and object B is in equilibrium with object C, then object A is in equilibrium with object C. That statement of transitivity is called the "zeroth law of thermodynamics." For example, a cold metal block and a hot metal block are both placed on a metal plate at room temperature. Eventually, the cold block and the plate will be in thermal equilibrium. In addition, the hot block and the plate will be in thermal equilibrium. By the zeroth...

Maxwell's thermodynamic relations are very useful in solving problems in thermodynamics. Each of Maxwell's relations relates a partial differential between quantities that can be hard to measure experimentally to a partial differential between quantities that can be easily measured. These relations are a set of equations derivable from the symmetry of the second derivatives and the thermodynamic potentials.
All thermodynamic potentials are exact differentials. Therefore, their second-order...

Consider the two thermodynamic processes involving an ideal gas that are represented by paths AC and ABC in Figure 1:

When an ideal gas is compressed adiabatically, that is, without adding heat, work is done on it, and its temperature increases. In an adiabatic expansion, the gas does work, and its temperature drops. Adiabatic compressions actually occur in the cylinders of a car, where the compressions of the gas-air mixture take place so quickly that there is no time for the mixture to exchange heat with its environment. Nevertheless, because work is done on the mixture during the compression, its...

The Joule-Thomson effect, also known as the Joule-Kelvin effect, describes the temperature change of a fluid when it is forced through a valve or porous plug while keeping it in a thermally insulated environment. This experiment is called a throttling process. This is an important effect widely used in refrigeration and the liquefaction of gases.
This experiment forces high-pressure gas through a throttle valve or a porous plug to a lower-pressure region. The gas expands as it passes through to...

The second law of thermodynamics can be stated in several different ways, and all of them can be shown to imply the others. The Clausius’ statement of the second law of thermodynamics is based on the irreversibility of spontaneous heat flow. It states that heat will not flow from the colder body to the hotter body unless some other process is involved. Additionally, as per the Kelvin’s statement, it is impossible to convert the heat from a single source into work without any other effect. This...