Thermodynamic equilibrium is when a system’s properties won’t change without external interference. It’s achieved through chemical, mechanical, and thermal equilibrium, described by the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The system will try to achieve equilibrium if there’s no mechanical equilibrium. Chemical equilibrium means no net chemical reactions, and thermal equilibrium means equal temperatures. Heat moves from high to low concentration until both objects are at the same temperature.
Thermodynamic equilibrium describes a system whose properties will not change without some sort of external interference. In other words, a system in thermodynamic equilibrium will not change unless something is added or subtracted from it. An example of this is a lukewarm drink. The drink may have started out cold, but the heat from the air will move into the cold drink and make it hotter until it reaches the same temperature as the air, thus reaching thermodynamic equilibrium. Also, as heat moves from the air into the beverage, the air immediately around the cup will also become cooler.
The process that a system uses to reach thermodynamic equilibrium is described in two laws of physics: the first law of thermodynamics and the second law of thermodynamics. The first law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred. The second law says that in an isolated system, entropy will increase until equilibrium is reached. This is the essence of thermodynamic equilibrium. For an object to reach thermodynamic equilibrium, three conditions must be met: chemical equilibrium, mechanical equilibrium, and thermal equilibrium.
Mechanical equilibrium describes what happens when there are no unbalanced forces in a system or with a system and its surroundings. This means that forces must be equal in a system and in a system and its surroundings. One of these forces is pressure. If the pressure is the same in the system and with the system and its surroundings, then mechanical equilibrium is achieved. If there is no mechanical equilibrium, the system will try to achieve equilibrium.
For a system to be in chemical equilibrium, there should be no net chemical reactions taking place. In some systems this can mean that chemical reactions have stopped. However, in other systems this may mean that a system has reached dynamic equilibrium. Dynamic equilibrium describes a state in which forward and reserve reactions occur such that the net amount of reactants remains unchanged. In chemical equilibrium it is also necessary that matter not move from one area to another, as happens when diffusion occurs.
When an object is in thermal equilibrium, the temperatures must be the same. The warm drink example is an example of a system reaching thermal equilibrium. When an object comes into thermal contact with another object, such as air, the heat will move from a higher concentration to a lower concentration, i.e. from hot to cold. Incidentally, this means that ice does not cool a drink, but rather the drink warms the ice. Heat will continue to move from high to low concentration until both objects are at the same temperature and thermal equilibrium is reached.
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