Thermodynamic Terms

Common thermodynamic terms - potential energy, kinetic energy, thermal or internal energy, chemical energy, nuclear energy and more

• Chemical energy - is related to the relationships between molecules in chemical compounds. When chemicals mix they may give of heat (exothermic reaction) or require heat (endothermic reaction)
• Electric energy - is related to electrons moving through a conductor
• Energy - can be reduced to the concepts of heat and work and can be found in various forms: potential energy, kinetic energy, thermal or internal energy, chemical energy, and nuclear energy
• Enthalpy - is a term with energy units that combines internal energy with a pressure/volume or flow work term
• Entropy - is a property of matter that measures the degree of randomization or disorder. The natural state is for entropy to be produced by all processes
• Heat - is energy in motion from one region to an other as a result of temperature difference
• Internal energy - has to do with activity within the molecular structure and is typically observed with temperature measurement
• Kinetic energy - is the energy of motion and is proportional to the square of the velocity as well to the mass of the moving body
• Nuclear energy - is related to the energy of atomic relationships between the fundamental particles. Nuclear fission and fusion are reactions which release nuclear energy
• Potential energy - is the energy of location or position of a mass in a force field
• Property - is a measurable characteristic of a system or substance. Temperature, density, pressure etc
• Specific Heat Capacity - The specific heat (also called specific heat capacity) is the amount of heat required to change a unit mass (or unit quantity, such as mole) of a substance by one degree in temperature
• Temperature - is a term used to quantify the difference between warm and cold level of internal energy of a substance
• Work - is an energy form which can be equated to the rising of a weight as moving a mass in a force field or moving a liquid against a resisting force

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