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Next: The Second Law Up: Continuum Thermodynamics Previous: Entropy

Enthalpy

It is useful to imagine a system that changes at constant pressure. In this case, the change in energy as a body is heated is not exactly the internal energy, but a new state function called enthalpy \bgroup\color{blue}$ H$\egroup. \bgroup\color{blue}$ H$\egroup represents the available thermal energy at constant pressure. It is the first new derived state function we will learn about after entropy.




W. Craig Carter 2002-09-05