Written by Gordon W.F. Drake
Last Updated


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Written by Gordon W.F. Drake
Last Updated

Equations of state

The equation of state for a substance provides the additional information required to calculate the amount of work that the substance does in making a transition from one equilibrium state to another along some specified path. The equation of state is expressed as a functional relationship connecting the various parameters needed to specify the state of the system. The basic concepts apply to all thermodynamic systems, but here, in order to make the discussion specific, a simple gas inside a cylinder with a movable piston will be considered. The equation of state then takes the form of an equation relating P, V, and T, such that if any two are specified, the third is determined. In the limit of low pressures and high temperatures, where the molecules of the gas move almost independently of one another, all gases obey an equation of state known as the ideal gas law: PV = nRT, where n is the number of moles of the gas and R is the universal gas constant, 8.3145 joules per K. In the International System of Units, energy is measured in joules, volume in cubic metres (m3), force in newtons (N), and pressure in pascals (Pa), where 1 Pa = 1 N/m2. A force of one newton moving through a distance of one metre does one joule of work. Thus, both the products PV and RT have the dimensions of work (energy). A P-V diagram would show the equation of state in graphical form for several different temperatures.

To illustrate the path-dependence of the work done, consider three processes connecting the same initial and final states. The temperature is the same for both states, but, in going from state i to state f, the gas expands from Vi to Vf (doing work), and the pressure falls from Pi to Pf. According to the definition of the integral in equation (22), the work done is the area under the curve (or straight line) for each of the three processes. For processes I and III the areas are rectangles, and so the work done is WI = Pi(Vf − Vi)       (23) and WIII = Pf(Vf − Vi),            (24) respectively. Process II is more complicated because P changes continuously as V changes. However, T remains constant, and so one can use the equation of state to substitute P = nRT/V in equation (22) to obtain          (25) or, because PiVi = nRT = PfVf         (26) for an (ideal gas) isothermal process,         (27)

WII is thus the work done in the reversible isothermal expansion of an ideal gas. The amount of work is clearly different in each of the three cases. For a cyclic process the net work done equals the area enclosed by the complete cycle.

Heat capacity and specific heat

As shown originally by Count Rumford, there is an equivalence between heat (measured in calories) and mechanical work (measured in joules) with a definite conversion factor between the two. The conversion factor, known as the mechanical equivalent of heat, is 1 calorie = 4.184 joules. (There are several slightly different definitions in use for the calorie. The calorie used by nutritionists is actually a kilocalorie.) In order to have a consistent set of units, both heat and work will be expressed in the same units of joules.

The amount of heat that a substance absorbs is connected to its temperature change via its molar specific heat c, defined to be the amount of heat required to change the temperature of 1 mole of the substance by 1 K. In other words, c is the constant of proportionality relating the heat absorbed (dQ) to the temperature change (dT) according to dQ = nc dT, where n is the number of moles. For example, it takes approximately 1 calorie of heat to increase the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 K. Since there are 18 grams of water in 1 mole, the molar heat capacity of water is 18 calories per K, or about 75 joules per K. The total heat capacity C for n moles is defined by C = nc.

However, since dQ is not an exact differential, the heat absorbed is path-dependent and the path must be specified, especially for gases where the thermal expansion is significant. Two common ways of specifying the path are either the constant-pressure path or the constant-volume path. The two different kinds of specific heat are called cP and cV respectively, where the subscript denotes the quantity that is being held constant. It should not be surprising that cP is always greater than cV, because the substance must do work against the surrounding atmosphere as it expands upon heating at constant pressure but not at constant volume. In fact, this difference was used by the 19th-century German physicist Julius Robert von Mayer to estimate the mechanical equivalent of heat.

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