Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo

Summary

1.1 Temperature and Thermal Equilibrium

  • Temperature is operationally defined as the quantity measured by a thermometer. It is proportional to the average kinetic energy of atoms and molecules in a system.
  • Thermal equilibrium occurs when two bodies can freely exchange energy but no net energy is transferred between them.
  • The zeroth law of thermodynamics states that when two systems, A and B, are in thermal equilibrium with each other, and B is in thermal equilibrium with a third system C, then A is also in thermal equilibrium with C.

1.2 Thermometers and Temperature Scales

  • Three types of thermometers are alcohol, liquid crystal, and infrared radiation (pyrometer).
  • The three main temperature scales are Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin. Temperatures can be converted from one scale to another using temperature conversion equations.
  • The three phases of water (ice, liquid water, and water vapor) can coexist at a single pressure and temperature known as the triple point.

1.3 Thermal Expansion

  • Thermal expansion is the increase of the size (length, area, or volume) of a body due to a change in temperature, usually a rise. Thermal contraction is the decrease in size due to a change in temperature, usually a fall in temperature.
  • Thermal stress is created when thermal expansion or contraction is constrained.

1.4 Heat Transfer, Specific Heat, and Calorimetry

  • Heat and work are the two distinct methods of energy transfer.
  • Heat transfer to an object when its temperature changes is often approximated well by Q=mcΔT,Q=mcΔT, where m is the object’s mass and c is the specific heat of the substance.

1.5 Phase Changes

  • Most substances have three distinct phases (under ordinary conditions on Earth), and they depend on temperature and pressure.
  • Two phases coexist (i.e., they are in thermal equilibrium) at a set of pressures and temperatures.
  • Phase changes occur at fixed temperatures for a given substance at a given pressure, and these temperatures are called boiling, freezing (or melting), and sublimation points.

1.6 Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

  • Heat is transferred by three different methods: conduction, convection, and radiation.
  • Heat conduction is the transfer of heat between two objects in direct contact with each other.
  • The rate of heat transfer P (energy per unit time) is proportional to the temperature difference via conduction through a slab of material with ends in contact with two objects at different temperatures ThTh and TcTc is proportional to the temperature difference ThTcThTc and the contact area A, and inversely proportional to the distance d between the ends.
  • Convection is heat transfer by the macroscopic movement of mass. Convection can be natural or forced, and generally transfers thermal energy faster than conduction.
  • Radiation is heat transfer through the emission or absorption of electromagnetic waves.
  • The rate of radiative heat transfer is proportional to the emissivity e. For a perfect blackbody, e=1e=1, whereas a perfectly white, clear, or reflective body has e=0e=0, with real objects having values of e between 1 and 0.
  • The rate of heat emission depends on the surface area and the fourth power of the absolute temperature:
    P=σeAT4,P=σeAT4,
    where σ=5.67×108J/s·m2·K4σ=5.67×108J/s·m2·K4 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and e is the emissivity of the body. The net rate of heat transfer from an object by radiation is
    Qnett=σeA(T24T14),Qnett=σeA(T24T14),
    where T1T1 is the temperature of the object surrounded by an environment with uniform temperature T2T2 and e is the emissivity of the object.
Order a print copy

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-2/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jan 19, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.