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Entropy02:39

Entropy

33.7K
Salt particles that have dissolved in water never spontaneously come back together in solution to reform solid particles. Moreover, a gas that has expanded in a vacuum remains dispersed and never spontaneously reassembles. The unidirectional nature of these phenomena is the result of a thermodynamic state function called entropy (S). Entropy is the measure of the extent to which the energy is dispersed throughout a system, or in other words, it is proportional to the degree of disorder of a...
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Entropy01:18

Entropy

3.3K
The first law of thermodynamics is quantitatively formulated via an equation relating the internal energy of a system, the heat exchanged by it, and the work done on it. A quantitative formulation of the second law of thermodynamics leads to defining a state function, the entropy.
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
3.3K
Entropy and Solvation02:05

Entropy and Solvation

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The process of surrounding a solute with solvent is called solvation. It involves evenly distributing the solute within the solvent. The rule of thumb for determining a solvent for a given compound is that like dissolves like. A good solvent has molecular characteristics similar to those of the compound to be dissolved. For example, polar solutions dissolve polar solutes, and apolar solvents dissolve apolar solutes. A polar solvent is a solvent that has a high dielectric constant (ϵ...
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Second Law of Thermodynamics02:49

Second Law of Thermodynamics

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In the quest to identify a property that may reliably predict the spontaneity of a process, a promising candidate has been identified: entropy. Processes that involve an increase in entropy of the system (ΔS > 0) are very often spontaneous; however, examples to the contrary are plentiful. By expanding consideration of entropy changes to include the surroundings, a significant conclusion regarding the relation between this property and spontaneity may be reached. In thermodynamic models, the...
26.0K
Third Law of Thermodynamics02:38

Third Law of Thermodynamics

21.0K
A pure, perfectly crystalline solid possessing no kinetic energy (that is, at a temperature of absolute zero, 0 K) may be described by a single microstate, as its purity, perfect crystallinity,and complete lack of motion means there is but one possible location for each identical atom or molecule comprising the crystal (W = 1). According to the Boltzmann equation, the entropy of this system is zero.
21.0K
Entropy Change in Reversible Processes01:10

Entropy Change in Reversible Processes

3.0K
In the Carnot engine, which achieves the maximum efficiency between two reservoirs of fixed temperatures, the total change in entropy is zero. The observation can be generalized by considering any reversible cyclic process consisting of many Carnot cycles. Thus, it can be stated that the total entropy change of any ideal reversible cycle is zero.
The statement can be further generalized to prove that entropy is a state function. Take a cyclic process between any two points on a p-V diagram.
3.0K

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Unraveling Entropic Rate Acceleration Induced by Solvent Dynamics in Membrane Enzymes
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Entropy in Molecular Fluids: Interplay between Interaction Complexity and Criticality.

Caroline Desgranges1,2, Jerome Delhommelle1,2

  • 1Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B
|December 3, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

We calculated molecular fluid entropy at the vapor-liquid phase boundary using simulations. The study reveals a symmetrical entropic transition, applicable to various fluid types, and identifies key thermodynamic relationships.

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Area of Science:

  • Thermodynamics
  • Statistical Mechanics
  • Computational Chemistry

Background:

  • Understanding phase transitions in molecular fluids is crucial for chemical engineering and materials science.
  • Entropy, a key thermodynamic property, governs phase behavior but is challenging to compute accurately near phase boundaries.
  • Previous methods often struggle with precise entropy calculations for coexisting vapor and liquid phases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To accurately calculate the entropy of molecular fluids along the vapor-liquid phase boundary.
  • To determine the critical entropy and analyze the symmetry of the vapor-liquid phase transition from an entropic perspective.
  • To establish functional relationships between thermodynamic variables and entropy for fluids up to their critical point.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized flat-histogram simulations to evaluate canonical and grand-canonical partition functions.
  • Applied statistical mechanics formalism to derive entropy from partition functions.
  • Analyzed thermodynamic variables (temperature, pressure) against entropy for coexisting phases.

Main Results:

  • Successfully calculated the entropy of molecular fluids at the vapor-liquid coexistence curve.
  • Determined the critical entropy, revealing a symmetrical entropic transition.
  • Observed consistent behavior across apolar, quadrupolar, and dipolar fluids.
  • Identified characteristic functional forms relating thermodynamic variables and entropy.

Conclusions:

  • The vapor-liquid phase transition exhibits symmetry from an entropic viewpoint.
  • The identified relationships between thermodynamic variables and entropy are broadly applicable to molecular fluids.
  • Flat-histogram simulations provide a robust method for calculating fluid entropy near phase boundaries.