The perpendicular-axis theorem states that the moment of inertia of a planar object about an axis perpendicular to its plane is equal to the sum of the moments of inertia about two mutually perpendicular concurrent axes lying in the plane of the body.
Consider a circular disc of mass M and radius R lying along an x-y plane. The origin lies at the center of the disc, and the z-axis is perpendicular to the disc's plane. All three axes coincide at the disc's center. The moment of inertia of this...

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.

When an object is in equilibrium, it is either at rest or moving with a constant velocity. There are two types of equilibrium: static and dynamic. Static equilibrium occurs when an object is at rest, while dynamic equilibrium occurs when an object is moving with a constant velocity. In both cases, there must be a balance of forces acting on the object.
To understand the concept of equilibrium, let us first consider the forces acting on an object. When different forces act on an object, they can...

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.

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...

Newton's first law of motion states that a body at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains in motion at constant velocity, unless acted on by a net external force. It also states that there must be a cause for any change in velocity (a change in either magnitude or direction) to occur. This cause is a net external force. For example, consider what happens to an object sliding along a rough horizontal surface. The object quickly grinds to a halt, due to the net force of friction. If...