Thermodynamics Definition | Definition of Thermodynamics at Dictionary.com

ther⋅mo⋅dy⋅nam⋅ics

[thur-moh-dahy-nam-iks]

–noun (used with a singular verb

)

the science concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy or work, and the conversion of one into the other: modern thermodynamics deals with the properties of systems for the description of which temperature is a necessary coordinate.

Origin:
1850–55; thermo- + dynamics

Related forms:

ther⋅mo⋅dy⋅nam⋅i⋅cist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To thermodynamics

ther·mo·dy·nam·ics (thûr'mō-dī-nām'ĭks)

(used with a sing. verb) Physics that deals with the relationships and conversions between heat and other forms of energy.
(used with a pl. verb) Thermodynamic phenomena and processes.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Thermodynamics

Ther`mo*dy*nam"ics\, n. The science which treats of the mechanical action or relations of heat.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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thermodynamics

The branch of physics devoted to the study of heat and related phenomena. The behavior of heat is governed by the three laws of thermodynamics: (1) The total energy of an isolated system cannot change; this is the law of conservation of energy. (2) Heat will not flow from a cold to a hot object spontaneously (see entropy). (3) It is impossible, in a finite number of operations, to produce a temperature of absolute zero.

Note: All thermodynamic properties of matter can be understood in terms of the motion of atoms and molecules.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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thermodynamics

theory of relationship between heat and mechanical energy, 1854, from adj. thermodynamic (1849), from thermo- + dynamic.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ther·mo·dy·nam·ics
Pronunciation: -iks
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
1 : physics that deals with the mechanical action or relations of heat
2 : thermodynamic processes and phenomena

thermodynamics ther·mo·dy·nam·ics (thûr'mō-dī-nām'ĭks)
n.

Physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy.
Thermodynamic phenomena and processes.

thermodynamics (thûr'mō-dī-nām'ĭks) Pronunciation Key
The branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy. Four basic laws have been established. ◇ The first law states that the amount of energy added to a system is equal to the sum of its increase in heat energy and the work done on the system. The first law is an example of the principle of conservation of energy. ◇ The second law states that heat energy cannot be transferred from a body at a lower temperature to a body with a higher one without the addition of energy. Thus, warm air outside can transfer its energy to a cold room, but transferring energy out of a cold room to the air outside requires extra energy (as with an air conditioner). ◇ The third law states that the entropy of a pure crystal at absolute zero is zero. Since there can be no physical system with lower entropy, all entropy is thus defined to have a positive value. ◇ The zeroth law states that if two bodies are in thermal equilibrium with some third body, then they are also in equilibrium with each other. This law has its name because it was implicitly assumed in the development of the other laws, and is in fact more fundamental than the others, but was only later established as a law itself.

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