Description
Learning Objectives
This chapter is intended to help you learn how to: Define a system that has clearly understood boundaries Define a process that has a clear beginning and end Identify systems and processes that fall into specific categories, such as open, closed, isothermal, and adiabatic
Define equilibrium and steady state, including how they are distinct from each other Recognize systems and processes that are at equilibrium, at a steady state, or both Recognize the forms in which energy can be stored by matter: internal energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy Recognize the forms in which energy can be transferred to or from matter: work and heat
Quantify force, pressure, temperature, work, kinetic energy, and potential energy Thermodynamics is the study of energy, including the conversion of energy from one form into another and the effects that adding or removing energy have on a system. Thermodynamics is essential for the practice of chemical engineering. The principles of thermodynamics have a fundamental role in how chemical processes are understood, analyzed, and designed. This book is intended for readers who are being introduced to this crucial subject for the first time.
The first chapter gives an overview of how and why thermodynamics is important and introduces some fundamental concepts. In particular, two abilities that are foundational in chemical engineering thermodynamics are
1. Recognizing the forms in which energy can be stored and transferred.
2. Identifying and analyzing systems.
Every chapter of this book opens with a list of objectives like the one above. Each chapter also features a “motivational example,” where an examination of an engineering application underscores the significance of the topics presented. Normally, the motivational example immediately follows the chapter instructional objectives, but in this chapter, the motivational example is in Section 1. 2. First, we briefly explore why the field of thermodynamics as a whole is essential to the practice of chemical engineering.
