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8: Thermodynamic Potentials

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    • 8.1: Fundamental Equation of Thermodynamics
      Let’s summarize some of the results from the first and second law of thermodynamics that we have seen so far.
    • 8.2: Thermodynamic Potentials
      Starting from the fundamental equation, we can define new thermodynamic state functions that are more convenient to use under certain specific conditions. The new functions are determined by using a mathematical procedure called the Legendre transformation.
    • 8.3: Free Energies
      he Legendre transformation procedure translates all information contained in the original function to the new one. Therefore, H(S,P,{ni}) , A(T,V,{ni}) , and G(T,P,{ni}) all contain the same information that is in U(S,V,{ni}) .
    • 8.4: Maxwell Relations
      Let’s consider the fundamental equations for the thermodynamic potentials that we have derived in section 8.1.

    This page titled 8: Thermodynamic Potentials was last modified on Tue, 11 Aug 2026 22:15:15 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Roberto Peverati via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.