Thermodynamic processes
A process is path followed by a system in reaching a given final
state of equilibrium state starting from a specified initial state.
An actual
process occurs only when the equilibrium state does not exist.
An ideal process can be defined in which the deviation from
thermodynamic equilibrium is infinitesimal.
All the states the system passes through during a
quasi-equilibrium process may
be considered equilibrium states.
For non-equilibrium processes, we are limited to a description of
the system before the
process occurs and after the equilibrium is restored.
Several processes are described by the fact that one property remains constant. The prefix iso- is used to describe such processes.
A process is said to be reversible if both the system and its
surroundings can be restored to their
respective initial states by reversing the direction of the process.
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