Property vs. State
Property
Property is any characteristic or attribute which can be quantitatively evaluated.
- Pressure, temperature, velocity, energy, etc. are all properties
Things that are done, like work or heat flow, are not properties.
State
The state of an object is its condition described by a list of properties. For example
- temperature and pressure may describe the state of a gas
The properties needed to describe the state of an object varies with the object and the microscopic versus macroscopic view of the object.
Some common states and their often used properties:
| State | Properties |
|---|---|
| Chemical | chemical composition, free charge, energy, entropy etc. |
| Electromagnetic | electric field strength, magnetic dipole moment, charge, etc. |
| Aesthetic | color, design, odor, etc |
| Geometric | length, width, breadth, volume, etc. |
| Hydrodynamic | pressure, shearing stress, strain rate, etc. |
| Kinematic | position, speed, acceleration, etc. |
| Thermodynamic | energy, temperature, volume, pressure, enthalpy, entropy, etc. |
Related Topics
• Basics
Basic engineering data. SI-system, unit converters, physical constants, drawing scales and more.
• Thermodynamics
Work, heat and energy systems.
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Thermodynamic Terms - Functions and Relations
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