Laws of Thermodynamics - Third Law

Third Law

The third law of thermodynamics is sometimes stated as follows:

The entropy of a perfect crystal at absolute zero is exactly equal to zero.

At zero temperature the system must be in a state with the minimum thermal energy. This statement holds true if the perfect crystal has only one state with minimum energy. Entropy is related to the number of possible microstates according to S = kBln(Ω), where S is the entropy of the system, kB Boltzmann's constant, and Ω the number of microstates (e.g. possible configurations of atoms). At absolute zero there is only 1 microstate possible (Ω=1) and ln(1) = 0.

A more general form of the third law that applies to systems such as glasses that may have more than one minimum energy state:

The entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the temperature approaches zero.

The constant value (not necessarily zero) is called the residual entropy of the system.

Read more about this topic:  Laws Of Thermodynamics

Famous quotes containing the word law:

    They are the lovers of law and order who observe the law when the government breaks it.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    If he who breaks the law is not punished, he who obeys it is cheated. This, and this alone, is why lawbreakers ought to be punished: to authenticate as good, and to encourage as useful, law-abiding behavior. The aim of criminal law cannot be correction or deterrence; it can only be the maintenance of the legal order.
    Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)