Heat and Thermodynamics

8.2 The Thermodynamic State and Thermodynamic Co-ordinates

The properties of a body which can be perceived by our senses are called physical properties. In any physical change of a body caused by heat, it is the pressure, volume and temperature of the body that changes. These properties of the body are measurable quantities. The thermodynamic state of a body can be measured by certain physical measurable properties of the body, suggested more or less by our sense perception. These measurable properties of the body which specify the thermodynamic state are called the thermodynamic co-ordinates of the body. The fundamental co-ordinates in thermodynamics are (1) pressure (p), (2) volume (v) and (3) temperature (θ). In addition to these co-ordinates, ...